(Anas platyrhynchos)
The Mallard is a medium-sized waterfowl species. The male Mallard has a glossy bottle-green head and white collar. witha purple-tinged brown breast, grey brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The rear of the male is black, with the dark tail having white borders. The bill of the male is a yellowish orange tipped with black while that of the female is generally darker ranging from black to mottled orange. The female Mallard is predominantly mottled with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown.
Mallards are a noisy species, the male has a nasal call, and a high-pitched whistle, while the female has a deeper quack stereotypically associated with ducks. They interbreed easily with other species bring about a wide variety in plumage.
Mallards eat plant material (seeds, grains, acorns, sedges, grass shoots), insects, and aquatic invertebrates. A surface feeder, it finds food in the water by “up-ending” (putting its head underwater and its tail end in the air) and by dabbling. It feeds on land by taking things from the ground. Click on image for more info.
Fun Facts:
The female quack is louder then the male.
A group of mallards on the ground is called a “sord”; while in flight; it is called a “flock”.
A mallard’s young feeds primarily on insects and grows to become a vegetarian.
A duck doesn’t feed her young as they are expected to find food for themselves.
The ducklings are capable of swimming and feeding right after they hatch.