MALLARD

MALLARD


The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Siberia and North Africa and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, India and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.

The male birds have a glossy green head and are grey on their wings and belly while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent blue feathers called a speculum on their wings. Males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers.

The female lays 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff spotless eggs on alternate days. Incubation takes about 27 to 28 days and fledging takes another 50 to 60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.

Unlike many Waterfowl, Mallards are considered an invasive species in some regions. It is a very adaptable species, being able to live and even thrive in urban areas which may have supported more localised, sensitive species of Waterfowl before development. The non-migratory mallard interbreeds with indigenous Wild Ducks of closely related species through genetic pollution by producing fertile offspring. The wild Mallard is the ancestor of most domestic ducks and its naturally evolved wild gene pool gets genetically polluted by the domesticated and feral Mallard populations.

The Mallard is omnivorous and very flexible in its choice of food. Its diet may vary based on several factors including the stage of the breeding cycle, short-term variations in available food, nutrient availability and inter-specific and intra-specific competition. The majority of the mallard's diet seems to be made up of gastropods, invertebrates, crustaceans, worms, many varieties of seeds and plant matter and roots and tubers.

Mallards of all ages (but especially young ones) and in all locations must contend with a wide diversity of predators including raptors, mustelids, corvids, snakes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, turtles, large fish, felids, and canids, including the domesticated ones. The most prolific natural predators of adult mallards are Red Foxes and the faster or larger birds of prey, such as, Peregrine falcons, Aquila eagles or Haliaeetus eagles.


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