Found wild throughout the Northern Hemisphere, mallards have also been introduced to many other areas and can easily be found in ponds, lakes, and rivers, as well as in artificial habitats such as golf courses, parks, gardens, and even yards. Highly adaptable, these ducks are familiar to most birders, but they are always worth watching and always have something to teach both novice and expert birders. Common Name: Mallard, Mallard DuckScientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos While coloration is always a good field mark, molting mallards may not look quite the same. For drakes, however, a key field mark is the tightly curled tail feathers on the top of the rump. While hybrid birds or young mallard drakes may not show this feature as clearly, any lift or curl to these tail feathers will indicate a male mallard. Females, however, lack these curly tail feathers. This bland coloration serves female mallards well, as it provides good camouflage for tending a nest and caring for hatchlings. At the same time, other female dabbling ducks have similar plumage, including mottled ducks, gadwalls, cinnamon teals, and northern shovelers. To be positive about the identification of a mallard hen, study the bill and head markings closely and note the color of the legs. Identifying hybrid mallards can be a challenge, but certain clues can pinpoint the bird’s identity. On males, look for the distinct curled tail feathers. Also look for plumage patterns similar to the colored head bordered by a collar or the colored speculum, even if the colors on the hybrid duck don’t match classic mallard plumage. Another indication of the bird’s species will be others in the flock, since mallards are highly social and many flocks will have hybrid members. While the speculum can be a key identification characteristic for mallards, other duck species do have a similar iridescent wing patch. Mottled ducks have a blue-purple speculum but it lacks the thick white borders, and green-winged teal have a two-tone green and black patch that also lacks white borders. Rather than using the speculum alone as a field identifier, look for a combination of field marks to positively identify mallards in flight. Mallards will also feed on land, though they are less agile and have a slow waddling gait. They forage for seeds, grasses, and insects, often in grassy fields near good water sources. Overall, these ducks are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of foods both in the water and on land. Instead of feeding mallards bread, opt for more nutritional substitutes such as cracked corn, oats, birdseed, chopped vegetables, or grape halves. These are fine options for what to feed ducks and will help provide them more suitable nutrition, particularly for young hatchlings. In addition to chemical contamination, mallards are also subject to lead poisoning and tangle hazards from improperly discarded fishing gear. Feral cats and other invasive predators, vehicle collisions, and illegal poaching are also problems. Adding Easter ducklings to urban and suburban ponds when these poorly chosen pets are abandoned just makes each problem worse for wild ducks. A typical nest will contain 4-15 eggs, but some mallard hens have been observed laying eggs in other hens’ nests, resulting in even larger broods of unrelated siblings. The incubation period is 25-30 days, and the hen does the majority of the incubation. In addition to teaching the chicks how and where to feed, the mother will also lead them away from danger and defend them from predators if necessary. Mother mallards also help insulate the chicks from poor weather, often standing over them or spreading their wings over their broods to shelter ducklings from excessive rain or hot sun. Juvenile mallards stay with their family group for up to a year, even though they are independent and no longer need protection or to be led to food. They often return to the same nesting sites for each breeding season. Once nesting starts the juvenile birds from the previous year will seek their own territories and nest sites nearby to raise their own broods. Mallards are well insulated against the cold, but they also have other ways to keep warm. It is not unusual to see several mallards huddling together in the coldest weather to share communal body heat. When standing, they may raise each leg off the snow or ice and bring it into their feathers to warm up, or they will nestle down over their legs to warm them both. Meanwhile, their breasts and abdomens are well insulated with feathers and down. Large rafts of mallards are also common in all seasons where food sources are plentiful, such as in urban parks or popular nesting grounds. In prime feeding or nesting areas, mallards may mix with other duck species and waterfowl, including northern pintails, American wigeons, gadwalls, ring-necked ducks, American coots, and Canada geese. So long as food remains plentiful, large mixed flocks are common, but the birds will begin to separate and seek better areas if resources run out.
