Colour: males have a dark, iridescent green head and neck with a white ring at the base and bright yellow bill. They have a chestnut chest and grey body, with a black and white tail. Females and juveniles are mottled brown, and
their head is a lighter tan colour, with an orange-brown beak. Both males and females have a blue patch with a white border on the wings and orange feet.

Size: 50-65cm, wingspan 81-98cm.

Lifespan: 5-10 years, up to 20.

Where and when: along Regent’s canal and in Victoria Park’s pond, all year round.

Conservation status: green (fun fact: they are the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth!).

Habitat

Mallard ducks are found in almost any wetland habitat, including lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers, coastal areas, parks and backyards. They are distributed in Asia, Europe, North America and North Africa.

Diet

Omnivorous – feed by dabbling to graze on underwater plants, invertebrates, fish and amphibians. They can also graze on land for grains and plants. Occasionally, they also consume human food.

Behaviour

These ducks spend most of day grazing and dabbling for food, and often group together with other mallards and other dabbling duck species in flocks. They are a tame species apart from when breeding season occurs.

Breeding

Monogamous – mallard ducks generally have one pair for life (except when “extra pair copulation” happens). Their nesting period happens during April to May. They prefer to make their nests on the ground near a water body or in a protected cavity and they become very
territorial birds during this period.