Species of the Month

Easter has come and gone, but the memory remains. Last year we took a look at the cottontail rabbit and this year the Easter species of the month is currently filling our ponds and creeks with quacks but will soon be joined by tiny peeping sounds. Enjoy a brief profile of the mallard duck.

Easter ducklings with mother

Scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class:   Aves (birds)

Order: Anseriformes (ducks, geese, and swans)

Range: North and South America, Eurasia, north Africa

Habitat: ponds, wetlands, streams  

Lifespan: 5-10 years, oldest known was 27 years

Diet: plants, insects, worms, small crustaceans, cereal crops

Predators:  foxes, coyotes, birds of prey, humans

Conservation Status: no special protection

A group of mallards enjoying a warm spring day together

Mallard hen on the go

Other Information: The mallard is the most common waterfowl species in the world. They have adapted to life with humans, but still display a fear (which you’ve noticed if you ever tried to pet one in the park). They are dabbling ducks. Dabbling is what they do to eat- flipping head down in the water, tail up in the air. The females do the quacking. Mallards also make a sound that I describe as muttering at you under their breaths. Females lay clutches of 9-13 eggs in a nest on the ground. After hatching, ducklings follow mama to the water, never to return to the nest. However, there is always an exception to the rule. Mallards nested in a tree at my parents’ house, to everyone’s astonishment. Both male (drake) and female (hen) have iridescent feathers on their wings, and the drake also has an iridescent green head.

Mallard drakes, complete with iridescent green heads

Bottoms up! Dabbling drake

This week's information comes from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web. Species comparisons will return next week. Stay tuned and be sure to like Nature Minute on Facebook.