Northern Mallard

Images ©:
©Bob Winters

Anas platyrhynchos

Large duck, up to 70 cm. Average weight 1.5 kg. Body is grey-brown. Wings have a blue-violet wing patch within thin white bars. Bill is yellow. Legs and webbed feet are orange. Females are smaller, mottled and streaked dusky brown. Juveniles are similar to females.

Details
Type
Bird
Group
Animals
Duck
Biology

Breeding season: July to December. Clutch size is 12. They pair up only during the breeding season. The male briefly defends a small territory and guards the female before egg-laying and during the early incubation period. After about five days, he abandons the female, leaving her to incubate the eggs, feed and raise the ducklings. The nest is a grass bowl, lined with down and well hidden on the ground or in a hole.The female leads the ducklings to water soon after hatching. They are able to swim, feed and fend for themselves. They are a highly adaptable species.
Distinctive Markings

Males have a glossy green head and neck, a white collar and a chestnut breast.
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Anas
Species
platyrhynchos

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Introduced to Australia as early as 1862. Australian populations are sedentary, but mallard's in the Northern Hemisphere are migratory.

Interesting Facts
Diet

Omnivore. Feeds mainly on aquatic vegetation but will also eat insects.
Habitat

Found in wetlands, grasslands and crops, as well as sheltered estuaries and marine habitats.
Native Status
Introduced
Audio
Sounds
Classic duck's "quack". Males also have wheezy "raehb" call.