Youth > Creature Features > Mallard Duck

Mallard Ducks in New Zealand

In New Zealand, introduced  mallards are mating with the native greyduck. During the past eighty  years, mallards have been released tosupplement wild duck populations,  and the proportion of grey ducksremaining is only about five percent.

Mallards waterfowl and so are most likely found on shallow bodies offresh water such as wetlands and ponds, on lakes and even floodedfields.

What do mallard ducks look like?

It is a medium-to-large dabbling duck that is most recognizable bythe male's glossy green head and white collar around the neck. Thefemale is a mottled brown with a brown bill, and both sexes have orangefeet and a purple-blue speculum with both sides outlined in white.

Both male and female mallards are about 20-23 inches (51-59 cm) long.

Do they fly?

Yes, and they 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.

How do Mallard Ducks 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 fishs ometimes are taken as well.

Do Mallards have bones?

Mallards have an internal skeleton like you and me and grow by adding material to this skeleton  and to their muscles. A bird's bonesare much lighter than ours - birds  have honeycomb bones so that they are not too heavy to fly.

You can see all the bones in a bird’s skeleton in this picture and what their bones are called. Do any have the same names as your bones?

How do Mallards raise their young?

Once Mallards arrive where they want to nest in the spring, thefemales build down-lined nests on the ground near lakes and reservoirs.It is important that the nests be well-placed in dense vegetation toavoid being found and eaten by predators.

Although Mallards usually mate with a single bird for a particularseason, the male deserts the female after only the first week ofincubation. The female incubates the five to 14 eggs by herself untilthey 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 49to 60 days later.

What do Mallards do each day?

They feed in the early morning and late afternoon – often in nearbyharvested fields - returning to water after feeding. During the summer,mallards spend much time asleep on water banks.  The mallard has onlythree defenses- swimming, flying, and camouflage, and it is prey tolarge mammals.

How do Mallards communicate?

The hen (female) mallard duck produces a quack, while the drake(male) produces a low grunt-whistle. The range of calls produced by ahen and drake mallard, as with most waterfowl, are somewhat limited.Often the same call is used in a variety of situations. For example, asimple hen mallard quack can communicate contentment, loneliness ordanger.

The calls produced by mallard ducks can also be used to coordinateflight when preparing for migration, leaving the roost for feedinggrounds or escaping potential life-threatening situations. Mallardswill also give preflight calls to one another to signal their intent tochange.

Do Mallards like to be together?

Yes, they are extremely social and gregarious creatures. They loveto be part of the crowd. During migration, mallards will congregate inhuge numbers at key staging and refuge areas as they travel through thedifferent flyways. Many of these key areas will hold tens of thousandsif not hundreds of thousands of mallard ducks at one time.