Mrs. Mallard

by Deena Stoddard

Title

Mrs. Mallard

Artist

Deena Stoddard

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

If someone at a park is feeding bread to ducks, chances are there are Mallards in the fray. Perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards occur throughout North America and Eurasia in ponds and parks as well as wilder wetlands and estuaries. The male's gleaming green head, gray flanks, and black tail-curl arguably make it the most easily identified duck. Mallards have long been hunted for the table, and almost all domestic ducks come from this species.

Mallards are "dabbling ducks" - they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. They almost never dive. They can be very tame ducks especially in city ponds, and often group together with other Mallards and other species of dabbling ducks.

Mallards can live in almost any wetland habitat, natural or artificial. Look for them on lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers, and coastal habitats, as well as city and suburban parks and residential backyards.

This beautiful female was captured in southwest Missouri.



All images © 2011-2020 Deena Stoddard ~ All Rights Reserved

Uploaded

February 15th, 2013

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags