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Anas platyrhynchos
The mallard is about 20-28 inches in length and has a wingspan of about three feet. It has a blue patch on the top side of its wings with a white line around it. The male mallard has a green head and neck with a white ring bordering it. It has a brown chest, a whitish-gray underside, brown wings and a yellow bill. The female mallard is mottled brown and tan with a white tail and an orange bill.
Mud flats along shore of small lake.
Most of the mallard's diet is made up of plants. It eats the seeds of grasses and sedges and the leaves, stems, and seeds of aquatic plants. It occasionally eats insects and crustaceans and mollusks, especially when it is young. It prefers to forage in water that is less than 16 inches deep so it can duck its head down and reach plants at the bottom. The mallard sometimes forages on farmland for grains like rice, corn, oats, wheat, and barley.
Spotted on Feb 25, 2014
Submitted on Mar 8, 2014
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