Mallard

Also known as
Common mallard, common wild duck, curly-tail, domestic duck, English duck, French duck, gray duck, gray mallard, green-head, stock duck.
What is the scientific name?
Anas platyrhynchos
Where are they located? How many subspecies are there?
There are two subspecies of mallards. A. p. platyrhynchos, the most widely distributed and abundant duck in North America is found almost all over the continent (Belrose 1976). A. p. conboschas is limited to western Greenland and is somewhat larger than A. p. platyrhynchos (Palmer 1976a).
Where do they live?
Generally found on small, shallow bodies of water, but also on rivers, lakes, and reservoirs (Palmer 1976a).
What do they look like?
The male mallard has a distinctive iridescent green head with a white band around its neck and a yellow beak. His chest is dark brown and his back and sides are gray. His tail also curls up in back.The female is, by comparison, ordinary looking. She is streaked brown with a spotted orange and brown bill. Her tail does not curl up. Both males and females have a blue "speculum" bordered with white on both sides. A duck's "speculum" is the back portion of its secondary feathers.
How big are they?
Males are between 20 and 28 inches long, females between 21 and 25 inches long (Belrose 1976). The wingspread is between 31 and 40 inches, males usually being larger (Palmer 1976a). Males and females both weigh between 1 and 4 pounds, males usually being heavier (Belrose 1976).
How long do they live?
Between 32% and 45% of newborns die their first year. Very few live longer than five years and one study estimated the average lifespan at one-and-half years (Palmer 1976a). Two of the oldest mallards lived 23 years, 5 months (Clapp et al 1982) and 29 years, 1 month (Kennard 1975), respectively.
How fast can they fly?
One study recorded a speed of 40 miles per hour (Cottam et al 1942). Other studies have recorded speeds from 26 to 60 miles per hour (Palmer 1976a).
What do they eat?
Ninety percent of the mallard's diet is vegetable matter and 10% is animal matter. Mallards eat the stems and seeds of aquatic plants such as bulrushes, pondweeds, and saw grass as well as wild rice and millet. Animal prey consist of aquatic insects such as water beetles and the larvae of mosquitoes, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis flies. Other animal food may include small fish, fish eggs, earthworms, leeches, and spiders (Palmer 1976a).

Interesting notes: Some of the first in-depth animal behavioral studies were performed on mallards and Konrad Lorenz described several specific behaviors associated with courtship and mating. Male mallards, called drakes, often try to find mates by grouping together and performing several different displays. They may perform the Head-Shake or the Grunt-Whistle, a motion in which one or more drakes raise their breast out of the water while arching their heads downward. This is followed by a sharp whistle and a deep grunt. If a female mallard, called a hen, chooses one of the drakes they will both perform Head-Pumping. The hen then lowers her head in the water to submit to the drake (Ramsey 1956). Displays such as these are also typical of other duck species such as the wood duck and the gadwall (Lorenz 1958).

What does a mallard hen look for in her mate? One study suggests that the most eligible drakes are relatively small in body size, are approximately 18 months of age, and perform a great deal more than average of the displays described above (Holmberg et al 1989). She apparently looks for the show-offs in the crowd.

When the chicks are born and finally ready to leave the nest they are dependent on their mother to lead them to water. However, a remarkable exception has been recorded. A brood of seven orphaned mallard chicks managed to find their way to water through a two and a half mile journey lasting 17½ hours. Their excursion included a steep hill and an overnight stay in an area with no surface water. While two of the chicks were killed by predators and a third was later found dead, the rest survived the journey (Krapu et al 1991).

Last updated April 16, 2006
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Copyright 2006, by Jim Rible