Mallard Identification Guide

The Mallard is the most well-known duck.

It is large, robust with a big beak and a short tail.

In flight, its wings are broad at the base and you can see the dark blue speculum bordered with white.

The "speculum" is a metallic-colored patch often found on ducks' central wing feathers. This helps to identify them more easily.

In breeding plumage, the male has a bottle-green head with a white collar and a yellow beak…

Its chest is dark brown, the rest of the body is light with a curled black tail.

The female has a brownish head with a dark cap and eyebrow. Her beak is irregularly dark on top…

The rest of her body is brownish with a light tail.

When the male undergoes the late summer molt, his plumage resembles the female's. This is called eclipse plumage. He will regain his initial plumage in 3 to 4 weeks.

The male in eclipse resembles the female, but his beak is yellow, his chest is reddish-brown, and his plumage is more uniform.

The juveniles strongly resemble the female, but they are more uniform and have a grayish beak.

Be careful not to confuse the Mallard with the female Gadwall or the male in eclipse.

The latter have a thinner and darker beak on top and a white speculum visible in flight.

The white speculum is clearly visible in flight (except in some juveniles).

You cannot confuse it with the male in breeding plumage which is recognized by its grayish plumage, long upper feathers, and black rear.

You can also confuse the Mallard with the female Northern Pintail or the male in eclipse. Here, a female.

But the latter has a darker and more uniform head and a longer tail. The male also has a bicolored beak.

You cannot confuse it with the male in breeding plumage which is recognized by its very long tail, highly contrasting plumage, and chocolate brown head marked with a white line on the neck.

The Mallard is quite noisy.

The female makes a loud quacking, "ouink" repeated rapidly, then going decrescendo "ouink-ouink ouink ouink ouink ouink ouink…".

The male emits a nasal monotone call "heinh heinh heinh…".

In courtship, it produces loud whistles.

The birds chatter among themselves and have a varied vocabulary, but untranslatable. This is observed in families in spring.

The Mallard is not very shy. It is easily found on the water bodies of public gardens.

You sometimes see it in large groups, with other species, on large water bodies before the harsh winter forces them to leave.

Like all dabbling ducks, it takes off without running on the water.

Its flight is energetic and fast, with the head and neck stretched forward.

Thanks to its strong flight, it can cover long migratory distances.

During the courtship display, the male does everything to show off his shiny feathers. He moves around the female.

He swims around the female, the neck stretched, stands upright puffing out his chest, nervously raises his tail, ruffles his head feathers or stretches his neck close to the water…

Mating takes place in the water. The female is completely submerged, with the male on her back. Only her head is above the water.

Its nest is well hidden in the bushes, on the edge of water bodies to protect from rising water.

It is a fairly deep cup, built on the ground, in dry grass, dense vegetation, or tree hollows, sometimes in artificial nest boxes.

The female plucks some abdominal feathers to line the nest.

She will lay one egg per day and will start incubating when the clutch is complete (about ten eggs).

She defends the nest well from intruders with calls and running on the ground as if injured to lure them away.

The Mallard is omnivorous.

During the breeding season, its diet is mainly animal (snails, worms, insects, larvae, small fish, tadpoles…).

Its beak allows it to filter very small aquatic prey.

Outside the breeding season, it is mostly vegetarian. It eats aquatic and terrestrial plants and seeds.

It is a dabbling duck. To feed, it simply tips its body to forage in the water and mud, without diving.

It maintains this position by paddling with its webbed feet.

At dusk, they leave the water to feed inland, in the nearby countryside. This is when hunters shoot them at "passée".

The Mallard is not very demanding. It lives in varied environments (lakes, marshes, coasts, urban areas) and can settle for tiny water bodies (ponds, ditches).

It is sedentary in a large part of Europe (west, south, and center).

The populations from the north and east are migratory and will winter in Mediterranean countries.

In Europe, the Gadwall is less widespread and more migratory than the Mallard. It winters in Western Europe.

In Europe, the Northern Pintail is even more migratory. Very few are sedentary. It winters in Western Europe and Africa.

The Mallard can live about twenty-nine years.