Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anas

Audio for Species

Call
Call

from Macaulay Library

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Additional Mallard Pictures

Description

Length: 19.7-25.6 in (50-65 cm) Weight: 35.3-45.9 oz (1000-1300 g) Wingspan: 32.3-37.4 in (82-95 cm)

Male basic plumage: Crown dark green. Face pale brownish, with dark line through eye. Breast warm brown. Body and wings mottled brown, white, and buff. Slight upturn to central tail feathers. Bill clear yellowish olive. Male alternate plumage: The head is iridescent dark green., with narrow white neck ring. Breast is chestnut-brown, back and wings are brownish gray. Underparts light grayish. Rump and under tail black, with white area just in front along flanks. Tail white on outside with black middle feathers. The bill is yellow to greenish, with black nail at tip. Eyes are dark and feet are red.

The female is brownish all over with mottled streaking of buff, white, and dark brown. The face paler than body, with a dark line through eye. A dark streak on the crown; a pale belly. The tail is whitish. The bill is orange or yellow marked with variable splotches of black; legs are flame-orange.

Habitat, Range, and Feeding

Mallards are found in all wetland areas, such as: ponds, lakes, rivers, fresh and saltwater marshes, and shorelines.

They nest in a bowl scraped in the ground, that is then lined with vegetation and down from the femal's breast. The clutch size is 1 to 13 eggs, that are creamy to greenish raw sienna. Only the female cares for the ducklings.

The eat insects and larvae, aquatic invertebrates, small fish, seeds, acorns, grains and aquatic vegetation.