Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Male - Lancashire, England - October 2007
Mallards are common throughout the northern hemisphere where they inhabit practically any stretch of water, no matter how small.
Male - Nottinghamshire, England - April 2010
It is a very adaptable species, and readily takes up residency in urban areas such as village ponds and public parks. Probably because of this, it was easily domesticated and is the ancestral species of most domestic duck breeds present today.
Male - Nottinghamshire, England - October 2011
Male - Nottinghamshire, England - October 2011
Male - Nottinghamshire, England - February 2012
Male - Nottinghamshire, England - March 2013
Male - Lancashire, England - December 2007
Male - Lancashire, England - April 2007
Male - Lancashire, England - November 2008
After the breeding season is over, the males moult into a temporary female-like eclipse plumage. The drab plumage allows them to be less obtrusive during the period when the flight feathers are being replaced.
eclipse-plumage male - Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada - September 2011
Female - Nottinghamshire, England - February 2012
Female - Nottinghamshire, England - March 2013
Female - Nottinghamshire, England - March 2013
Female - Lancashire, England - October 2007
Female - Lothian, Scotland - January 2006
Female - Norfolk, England - September 2003
female - Nottinghamshire, England - October 2011
female - Nottinghamshire, England - October 2011
Chick - Lancashire, England - April 2003
Chick - Lancashire, England - April 2003
The Mallard is an aggressive species and in places where it has been introduced by man, it often hybridises with closely-related native species. In New Zealand it has cross-bred extensively with the native Pacific Duck and there are now very few areas where pure Pacific Ducks remain within New Zealand.
Mallard x Pacific Duck hybrid - Rotorua, New Zealand - November 2005
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