Bird name:

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchosOrder: ANSERIFORMES Family: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Codes: Common Name: MALL Scientific Name: ANAPLA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175063

Mallard - The male Mallard has a gray body and chestnut-brown breast, green head, and white neck ring. The tail is black with distinct white edges and two curled black feathers.

Mallard Female - The female Mallard lacks the curled tail feathers of the male and is brown mottled overall with a dark eye stripe and a pale head and neck.

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Mallard

Mallard: Medium-sized dabbling duck with gray body and chestnut-brown breast. The head is green and neck ring is white. Bill is yellow-green. Wing speculum is white-bordered metallic purple-blue. The tail is dark with distinct white edges and two curled black feathers. Legs and feet are orange.

● Song: "kwek-kwek-kwek"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mallard: Dabbles in shallow freshwater for vegetation, insects, mollusks, and crustaceans. Often forages for food in fields and woodlots.

● Breeding & nesting: Mallard: Five to fourteen green or gray buff eggs are laid in a down-lined nest, usually built on the ground, sometimes far from water; occasionally nests in trees. Incubation ranges from 26 to 30 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Mallard: Northern Shoveler has a long, dark bill, white breast, and chestnut-brown brown sides. Common and Red-breasted mergansers have narrow red bills and head crests.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with strong wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Mallard Duck: Breeds from Alaska and Quebec south to southern California, Virginia, Texas, and northern Mexico. Spends winters throughout the U.S. and south to Central America and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include ponds, lakes, marshes, small river bends, bays, ditches, and city ponds.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to abundant

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight38.4 Ounces

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Mallard

Mallard

Flight Pattern