Mallard

Male Mallard ~Photography by Caitlyn Sippel

You may be familiar with the Mallard, as it is possibly the most well-known of all ducks and lives all across North America. Mallards are often seen in city ponds and lakes. Male mallards have a distinctive metallic green head with a narrow white neck collar during the winter but the head turns to a greyish colour during the summer. The female is mainly a mottled brown all year round. They live up to 29 years, have a wingspan of 82-95 cm and grow to the length of 50-65 cm.

Voice:

Males use a quiet and raspy raab, though during courtship they will use a high-pitched whistle. The female Mallard’s call, on the other hand, is a single or repeated quack.

Nesting:

Their nests are near water, typically on floating vegetation which they line with plant matter. Mallards lay 6-15 eggs in 1 brood from February to September.

Feeding:

Mallards are largely vegetarian and will eat aquatic vegetation, agricultural crops, seeds and acorns. However, when breeding they will eat insects, mollusks, earthworms and crustaceans.

Watch the video below to see male and female Mallards swim and eat: