Learn what male and female mallard ducks look like and sound like. Look for mallards on open water; they usually nest near the water’s edge.
Mallard Duck: Everything You Need to Know
Updated on Aug. 08, 2024
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What Does a Mallard Duck Look Like?
- Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos
- Common name: Mallard
- Family: Duck
- Length: 23 inches
- Wingspan: 35 inches
A male mallard duck (drake) has bright-green head, yellow bill and white collar. The female (hen) has plain brown plumage with an orange bill. Both males and females have a blue wing patch with white borders, most obvious in flight.
Mallards molt twice per year. The males molt into an “eclipse” plumage after breeding season and require all of their flight feathers to regrow, which takes up to four weeks. They sport a look similar to the females for camouflage during this flightless period.
Mallards are on the larger side for ducks, measuring up to 25 inches long and weighing 2 to 3 pounds.
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Mallard Nest and Eggs
Remarkably adaptable to civilization, the mallard will nest in a city park if there is even a small pond. This species usually nests near the water’s edge, but occasionally chooses a site on higher ground.
To attract nesting mallards, plant hedges and shrubs near water. The mallard’s nest is built on the ground among dead grasses or reeds, often close to water. Mallards can breed by age 1, though older ducks tend to have higher success rates.
Female mallards lay an average of nine eggs per clutch, though they’ll occasionally lay up to 15 eggs. Only the females tend to the nest and eggs.
Though mallard ducklings can swim within hours after hatching, they need at least 50 days before taking their first flight.
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What Do Mallard Ducks Eat?
Their diet consists mostly of seeds and aquatic insects and plants. What foods can you feed to ducks?
Sound and Calls
Listen to the mallard duck’s sound. The female mallard gives a loud, quacking call. Male gives a short, rasping “quehp.”
Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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How Fast Can Mallard Ducks Fly?
Migrating mallards average 55 mph in the air, and they can fly even faster with a tailwind.
Mallard Duck Range Map and Habitat
Look for mallards on open shallow, fresh water, surrounded by grassy fields and woodlands.
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “Of all the ducks, mallards seem to be the best at adapting to live around humans. Flocks and families of mallards live in the semi-wild around many cities and suburbs, and may be seen walking across streets or resting on lawns or parking lots.”
Very much a worldwide duck, mallards are native to areas on four different continents: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
The North American mallard population was estimated at around 6.1 million in 2023, making them one of the most plentiful ducks.
During colonial times, mallards declined 50% to 80% due to overhunting. In the 1940s, over 2 million domestic mallards were released into the wild, which successfully re-established the species.
Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.
Next, learn how to identify an American coot.
Additional reporting by Lisa Ballard
Sources
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Waterfowl Population Report
- Ducks Unlimited – 2023 Duck Population Numbers
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- Ducks Unlimited – Amazing Waterfowl Facts
- All About Birds – Mallard
- National Audubon Society – Mallard
- Mass Audubon – Mallards
- National Geographic Kids – Mallard Duck
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Mallard
- American Bird Conservancy – Mallard
- Pennsylvania Game Commission
- Global Invasive Species Database
