Mallard

(Anas platyrhynchos)

Conservation  •  Description  •  Habitat  •  Ecology  •  Distribution  •  Taxonomy

Mallard - Featured photo
Photo by Wayne Rasmussen

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding
SNRB, SNRN - Unranked Breeding and Nonbreeding

Minnesota

not listed

Description

The patch of colorful feathers on the wing (speculum) is blue and is bordered with white.

Size

Total length: 20″ to 27″

Wingspan: 35″

Voice

 

Similar Species

 

Habitat

Wetlands, open water

Ecology

Migration

March to November

Nesting

 

Diet

 

Distribution

Occurrence

Abundant migrant and breeder

Maps

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Taxonomy

Class

Aves (Birds)

Order

Anseriformes (Waterfowl)

Family

Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Swans)

Subfamily

Anatinae (Dabbling Ducks)

Genus

Anas (Mallards, Pintails, and Allies)

Subordinate Taxa

Domestic Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus)

Greenland Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos conboschas)

Holarctic Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)

Synonyms

Anas boschas

Anas oustaleti

Visitor Photos

Share your photo of this bird.

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.

Bobbi Johnson

Mallard 30

Alfredo Colon

Mallard 23
Mallard 24
Mallard 25
Mallard 26
Mallard 27
Mallard 28
Mallard 29

Margot Avey

Mallard 20
Mallard 21
Mallard 22

Gerry Garcia

Mallard 18
Mallard 19

Norm & Peg Dibble

Mallard 17

Here’s one of many times we experienced a very large flock of Mallards landing in our yard and the two other adjacent ones too looking for the corn that we usually have out there most of the year. This was back around 2011 possibly. If we threw out large amounts of whole corn, it was gone in a flash and many of them would not get a bite. Then groups of them would fly away if they did get to eat. So we’d go out and throw more corn around. The ducks would temporarily take off but would circle around and around the area until they felt safe to land again. It was quite a sight and possibly our neighbors were not happy with us. We always wondered if they were from the Shingle Creek area where many spend the winter or if they were flocks that were migrating. We are under the impression that ducks don’t bother migrating from MN really anymore. We are glad that we have been able to keep our Mallard visitors down to only a few pairs now for the past 5 years about. An interesting thing to see in these large flocks of ducks was an occasional all white duck or variations of patterns.

Mallard 16
Duck and Doves, July 2016. So cute!

Lynn Rubey

An adult male Mallard in The big Stone Lake in Ortonville, Mn.

Mallard 14
Mallard 15
Mallard 13
A male Mallard duck in flight over the marsh waters of The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.

Wayne Rasmussen

Mallard 11
Mallard 12
Mallard 09
Mallard 08
Urban parks host a large variety of wildlife if you really spend some time observing.

Dan W. Andree

Mallard 03

Spring Arrivals

They eventually all flew off together.

Mallard 10

"Mallard Ducks" adult male and female in flight...

Took the photo early evening April 28, 2018 they were circling near the Sandpiper Prairie SNA in rural Norman Co. Mn.

Ed Oliveras

Mallard 02
Female
Mallard 01
Male

Tom Baker

Mallard 06
Mallard 07

Minnesota Seasons Photos

Mallard 04
Mallard 05
Mallard 03
Ferral/Domestic Hybrid

Slideshows

Mallard
Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Mallard
Ed McVicker

Mallard
JMC Nature Photos

Visitor Videos

Share your video of this bird.

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.

Avi Birds

Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Aug 4, 2020

About

In this video, we take a look at the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Other Videos

Mallard Duck - HD Mini-Documentary
James Knott

About

Uploaded on Mar 10, 2009

http://quickdirt.com is my new mountain biking website. Check it out for more great adventures!

Transcript: "The Mallard is found around the world in North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

This waterfowl prefers calm, shallow water in wetlands, small ponds and rivers. The Mallard is a dabbling duck which means that it feeds while floating on the surface of the water as opposed to diving for its meals. It feed mainly on aquatic vegetation, but will also eat insects.

This duck, along with the Muscovy Duck, are believed to be the ancestors of all domestic ducks.

The male, which is known as a drake, has a distinct green head with a yellowish-orange bill, while the female has a more natural light brown coat and dark brown bill.

Mating pairs will stay together until the female lays eggs. soon after, the male will leave.

Newly hatched ducklings are precocial which means they can swim and feed themselves from the moment they leave the eggs."

Baby Mallard Ducks in my Swimming Pool
LimeyInSD

About

Uploaded on Jun 19, 2007

In mid June, I came home to find a mother and 8 baby ducklings hanging out in my pool. Estimated to be only a couple of days old, this video is a short documentary from their discovery to their escape/ rescue in the 2 days that they were here

Nikon P500 Extreme Zoom Test on Mallard Ducks
Alley Oop

About

Uploaded on Apr 14, 2011

Check out the extreme 144x zoom lens of the Nikon P500.

Not a good sunny day so the scene is a little drab and heat from shooting over my truck engine is causing some atmospheric distortions. But boy-o-boy that is some zoom lens :-)

Two wild ducks - part 5
kannonim

About

Uploaded on Mar 30, 2007

Two wild ducks (Anas Platyrhynchos) in the ditch again. Taas sinisorsat ojassa.

Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this bird.

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.

Alfredo Colon
9/28/2019

Mallard

Location: Maplewood Nature Center in Maplewood, MN

Margot Avey
8/20/2019

Mallard

Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center

Margot Avey
8/8/2019

Mallard

Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center

Gerry Garcia
8/4/2019

Mallard

Location: Lyndale Park, Minneapolis, MN

Lynn Rubey
6/22/2019

Mallard

Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

An adult male Mallard in The big Stone Lake in Ortonville, Mn.

Lynn Rubey
6/19/2019

Mallard

Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

A male Mallard duck in flight over the marsh waters of The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.

Wayne Rasmussen
5/21/2018

Mallard

Location: Joy Park

Wayne Rasmussen
5/20/2018

Mallard

Location: Maplewood Nature Center

Dan W. Andree
5/3/2018

Mallard

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn

They eventually all flew off together.

Dan W. Andree
4/28/2018

Mallard

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

Took the photo early evening... they were circling near the Sandpiper Prairie SNA

Norm & Peg Dibble
July 2016

Mallard

Location: Maple Grove, MN

Duck and Doves, July 2016. So cute!

Wayne Rasmussen
7/5/2016

Mallard

Location: Maplewood Heights Park

Norm & Peg Dibble
2011

Mallard

Location: Maple Grove, MN

Here’s one of many times we experienced a very large flock of Mallards landing in our yard and the two other adjacent ones too looking for the corn that we usually have out there most of the year. This was back around 2011 possibly. If we threw out large amounts of whole corn, it was gone in a flash and many of them would not get a bite. Then groups of them would fly away if they did get to eat. So we’d go out and throw more corn around. The ducks would temporarily take off but would circle around and around the area until they felt safe to land again. It was quite a sight and possibly our neighbors were not happy with us. We always wondered if they were from the Shingle Creek area where many spend the winter or if they were flocks that were migrating. We are under the impression that ducks don’t bother migrating from MN really anymore. We are glad that we have been able to keep our Mallard visitors down to only a few pairs now for the past 5 years about. An interesting thing to see in these large flocks of ducks was an occasional all white duck or variations of patterns.

Ed Oliveras
2/4/2005

Mallard

Location: Lake Rebecca Park

Wayne Rasmussen
4/23/2003

Mallard

Location: Maplewood Heights Park

Urban parks host a large variety of wildlife if you really spend some time observing.

Minnesota Seasons Sightings

Blaine Preserve SNA

Blaine Wetland Sanctuary

Blazing Star Prairie

Boot Lake SNA

Brownsville, MN

Butternut Valley Prairie SNA

Cannon River Trout Lily SNA

Cannon River Wilderness Area

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Carver Park Reserve

Chamberlain Woods SNA

Clear Lake SNA

Cleary Lake Regional Park

Clifton E. French Regional Park

Clinton Falls Dwarf Trout Lily SNA

Crosstown West Park

Des Moines River SNA

Dodge Nature Center

Earley Lake

Elm Creek Park Reserve

Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park

Fort Snelling State Park

Glacial Lakes Preserve

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge

Grey Cloud Dunes SNA

Hamden Slough NWR

Joy Park

Kasota Prairie

Keller Regional Park

Kilen Woods State Park

Lake Rebecca Park

Lake Rebecca Park Reserve

Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Maplewood Heights Park

Maplewood State Park

Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA

Miller Prairie, East Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Long Meadow Lake Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Louisville Swamp Unit

Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, Lawrence Unit

Moose Lake State Park

Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Myre-Big Island State Park

Ney Nature Center

North Mississippi Regional Park

Otter Tail Prairie SNA

Pine Bend Bluffs SNA

Point Douglas Park

Rice Lake State Park

Rieck’s Lake Park and Campground (Alma, Wisconsin)

Ritter Farm Park

Sakatah Lake State Park

Savage Fen SNA

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

Shetek WMA, East Unit

Sibley State Park

Spring Lake Regional Park

Springbrook Nature Center

Stanley Eddy Memorial Park Reserve

Sunfish Lake Park

Tamarack Nature Center

Thompson County Park

Twin Lakes SNA

Westwood Hills Nature Center

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

Wood-Rill SNA

Woodland Trails Regional Park