Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Karen Bonsell/Great Backyard Bird Count
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
| Conservation status | Still one of the most abundant ducks in the world. Numbers fluctuate considerably, and population of northern Great Plains is probably permanently reduced from historical levels. Status of wild birds is clouded by large number of feral populations. |
|---|---|
| Family | Ducks and Geese |
| Habitat | Marshes, wooded swamps, grain fields, ponds, rivers, lakes, bays, city parks. May occur in any kind of aquatic habitat, but favors fresh water at all seasons; only sparingly on coastal waters, mainly in winter on sheltered bays and estuaries. Most abundant in summer on prairie potholes and in semi-open country north of the prairies. Most abundant in winter on swamps and lakes in lower Mississippi Valley. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
forages in water by dabbling, submerging head and neck, up-ending, rarely by diving; forages on land by grazing, plucking seeds, grubbing for roots.
Eggs
7-10, sometimes 5-15. Whitish to olive buff. Incubation is by female, 26-30 days. Young: Leave nest within a day after hatching, are led to water by female. Young are tended by female but feed themselves. Age at first flight 52-60 days. 1 brood per year, perhaps rarely 2.
Young
Leave nest within a day after hatching, are led to water by female. Young are tended by female but feed themselves. Age at first flight 52-60 days. 1 brood per year, perhaps rarely 2.
Diet
omnivorous. Majority of diet is plant material, including seeds, stems, and roots of a vast variety of different plants, especially sedges, grasses, pondweeds, smartweeds, many others; also acorns and other tree seeds, various kinds of waste grain. Also eat insects, crustaceans, mollusks, tadpoles, frogs, earthworms, small fish. Young ducklings may eat mostly aquatic insects.
Nesting
Pairs form in fall and winter. Displays of male include dipping bill in water and then rearing up, giving whistle and grunt calls as he settles back on water; raising head and tail while giving sharp call; plunging forepart of body deep in water and then flinging up water with bill. Nest: Female, accompanied by male, seeks and chooses site for nest. Site may be more than 1 mile from water; usually on ground among concealing vegetation, but may be on stump, in tree hollow, in basket above water, various other possibilities. Nest is shallow bowl of plant material gathered at the site, lined with down.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
Male utters soft, reedy notes; female, a loud quack.How climate change could affect this bird's range
In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.
Read more: climate.audubon.org
Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
Mallard In the News More News
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How to Tell a Canvasback from a Redhead
Focus on size, head shape, and body color to distinguish these deluxe ducks.
Press Room
Audubon Washington Urges Lawmakers to Make History as Clean Energy Legislation Comes to Floor Vote
UPDATE: 100 percent clean electricity legislation passes state Senate 28-19, awaits floor vote in House.
Press Room
Audubon Washington Leads Advocacy for Climate Action in 2019 State Legislature
Supports 100 percent clean energy by mid-century, a clean fuel standard and enhanced building efficiency standards.
