Mallard Duck

The Mallard duck weighs seven to eight pounds and it is 20-28 inches long, with a wingspan of about 3 feet. The male mallard has a green head and a neck with a white ring bordering it. It has a brown chest, white belly, brown wings and a yellow beak. The female mallard is brown with a white tail and an orange beak. This helps by somewhat camouflaging themselves in the tall grass near in their surroundings. The mallard lives in marshes, lakes, swamps, river, streams, and ponds. Mallards usually feed on plants by eating the seeds of grasses and the leaves, stems, and seeds of water plants. The important thing about the Mallard eating the seeds is that when it moves to different areas, if the seeds are not digested they are deposited in different areas to grow. It eats the seed by dipping its head into the water and reaching plants at the bottom. They also sometimes eat insects and might go on farmlands to eat rice, corn, oats, wheat, and barley. Yet the Mallard has to watch out for predators such as coyotes and wolfs, but there aren’t really that many near this area in which the Mallard populates.
The Mallard usually nests near the river bank and usually no further than 100 yards from the water. Mallards usually find their mate by the winter. Most Mallard ducks are a pair until the female lays her eggs. The female usually lays about 8 to 10 eggs, which hatch around a month after being laid. The mallard also mates with other duck species like the American black duck and the northern pintail. A very interesting fact is that 19% of pairs in a Mallard population are gay. After the mating season is over, most mallards in colder climates migrate in flocks to wintering grounds. If the area in is warm and there is plenty of food, the mallards will stay there year-round.