Mallard

The mallard has to be America's favorite duck. After all, mallard chicks will easily win your heard. Learn how to attract mallard to your yard, and listen to their song.

Photo: Roland Jordahl

• Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos.
• Family: Duck.
• Length: 23 inches.
• Wingspan: 35 inches.Distinctive Markings: Male has bright green head, yellow bill and white collar. Female is mottled in plain brown plumage, with an orange bill. Both have white borders in front and blue bars in wings.
• Nest: Build on the ground among dead grasses or reeds at edges of sloughs, lakes, reservoirs.
• Song: Female gives loud, quacking calls. Male gives short, rasping "quehp."
• Habitat: Open shallow, fresh water, surrounded by grassy fields and woodlands.
• Diet: Seeds and aquatic insects and plants.
• Backyard Favorites: Hedges and shrubs, near water, under which to nest.