Mallard
Ducks
Anas platyrhynchos
Description - The male mallard duck has a greyish
body, chestnut coloured breast and a green head with white
neck rings. The inner feathers of the wings are a metallic
purplish-blue, bordered in the front and back with white.
The female mallard is a mottled brown with a white tail
and the feathers of the inner wing are also purplish-blue.
The bill is a mottled orange and brown.
Distribution - The mallard duck breeds in the north
and winters in the south, along coasts. They inhabit marshes,
ponds and marshy lakes.
Biology
- In midwinter mallards form pairs and migrate northward
together heading for the female's place of origin. There
they will build a down-lined nest to place the 8-10 light
olive-green eggs. The male duck stays until incubation
is well underway, then leaves to join a flock of other
males. They often interbreed with domestic ducks, producing
a variety of odd-looking hybrids. Mallard ducks are a
normally shy creature but do occasionally become tame
in city parks and on reservoirs.
