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| MALLARDS Anas platyrhynchos |
| The Mallard is probably the most widely known wild duck in North America. It is a medium-to-large dabbling duck that is most recognizable by the male's glossy green head and white collar around the neck. The female is an overall brown color, and both sexes have orange feet and a purple-blue speculum with both sides outlined in white. Life History Mallards feed by "dabbling" and upending, meaning that they tip their bodies into water, bill first, tail in the air, to forage for food. Their diet is 90% vegetarian, consisting mainly of seeds of grasses, sedges, pondweeds and other aquatic vegetation. Snails, insects and small fish sometimes are taken. Mallards can accomplish some interesting feats. They swim with their tail held above the water and, when they are alarmed, they spring directly out of the water and into the air. The sudden flight of Mallards can make quite a spectacular sight. Once Mallards arrive on their nesting territory in the spring, the females build down-lined nests on the ground near lakes and reservoirs. It is important that the nests be well-placed in dense vegetation to avoid detection from predators. Although Mallards are seasonally monogamous, the male deserts the female after only the first week of incubation. The female incubates the five to 14 eggs by herself until they hatch some time between March and July, some 26 to 30 days later. The downy young leave the nest soon after hatching and can fly from 49 to 60 days later. |
| PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY ALICE BOWLES |
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| PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY ALICE BOWLES |