The mallard or wild duck is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males (drakes) have green heads, while the females (hens) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm (32–39 in) and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb). Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes.
Mallard
An American black duck (upper left) and a male mallard (lower right) in eclipse plumage
Juvenile male and female
Mallards are among the most common bird species to exhibit aberrant colouration, typically due to genetic mutations. The female pictured here is leucistic; leucism in birds often results in 'cream-colored', 'apricot' or muted feathers on certain parts of the body.
The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae. Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a young but highly apomorphic lineage derived from the dabbling ducks.
Anatinae
Spot-billed ducks dabbling
Baikal teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Indian spot-billed duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) in Hyderabad, India