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Mallard
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| Mallard, male © Tim
Zurowski Courtesy of eNature |
Species
description provided by eNature
Description
18-27" (46-69 cm). Male has a green head, white neck ring,
chestnut breast, and grayish body; inner feathers of wing (speculum)
are metallic purplish blue, bordered in front and back with white.
Female mottled brown with white tail and purplish-blue speculum;
mottled orange and brown bill. Form in Southwest ("Mexican
Duck") similar to typical female mallard, but darker; speculum
blue; bill of male yellow-green; bill of female dusky orange; no
white in tail.
Voice
Male utters soft, reedy notes; female, a loud quack.
Habitat
From ponds, lakes, and marshes to small river bends, bays, and even
ditches and city ponds.
Nesting
8-10 light olive-green eggs in a down-lined nest often placed some
distance from water, occasionally even in a tree.
Range
Breeds from Alaska and Quebec south to southern California, Virginia,
Texas, and northern Mexico. Winters throughout United States and
south to Central America and West Indies. Also in Eurasia.
Discussion
The mallard is undoubtedly the most abundant duck in the world.
Nearly 10 million live in North America, and millions more are found
in Eurasia. Since the mallard is the ancestor of the common white
domestic duck, still more can be added to the total. Mallards frequently
interbreed with domestic stock, producing a bewildering variety
of patterns and colors. They also hybridize with wild species, such
as the closely related American black duck and even occasionally
with northern pintails. Strong fliers, mallards sometimes reach
remote oceanic islands where isolated populations have evolved into
new species. Like the mottled duck, these isolated populations often
differ from the mallard mainly in that they lack the colorful plumage
of the male. Mallard courtship starts in the fall, and by midwinter
pairs have formed. Mated pairs migrate northward together, heading
for the female's place of origin. The male stays with the female
until incubation is well underway, then leaves to join a flock of
other males to begin the annual molt.
