Mallard

• Its distinctive plumage: The male mallard has a bright green head, a yellow bill, a purple-brown breast, and a black tail-curl.
  The female mallard is mostly brown with an orange bill and a white-bordered black or iridescent purple speculum on the wings.
  The speculum is a patch of feathers that reflects light and can be seen from a distance.
  The mallard can also change its plumage depending on the season, becoming more dull and brown in the winter to blend in with the surroundings.

• Its dabbling behavior: The mallard is a dabbling duck, which means that it feeds by tipping its body forward and submerging its head and neck in the water, while keeping its tail and legs above the surface.
  It eats aquatic plants, seeds, insects, snails, and other small animals.
  It can also graze on land, eating grass, grains, and acorns.

• Its social and vocal nature: The mallard is a social animal that prefers to live in groups or flocks of varying sizes.
  It communicates with other mallards using a variety of sounds, such as quacks, whistles, grunts, and groans.
  The female mallard is more vocal than the male, especially during the breeding season, when she uses a loud "decrescendo call" to attract mates.
  The male mallard responds with a softer "inciting call" to show his interest.

• Its breeding and nesting habits: The mallard is a monogamous bird, which means that it forms a pair bond with one partner for one breeding season.
  However, some males may mate with other females, resulting in mixed paternity.
  The mallard breeds in the spring, usually between March and May, depending on the location.
  The female mallard chooses a nest site, usually near water, and builds a shallow depression lined with grass, leaves, and down feathers.
  She lays 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff eggs, on alternate days, and incubates them for 27 to 28 days.

The mallard is a dabbling duck that can live in a variety of habitats across the world.
It can be found in temperate and subtropical regions of America, Europe, Asia, North Africa and Australia.
Mallards prefer calm, shallow water bodies that have plenty of aquatic vegetation to feed on.
They can inhabit freshwater wetlands, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and marshes, as well as saltwater and brackish water habitats such as estuaries, inlets, and coastal lagoons.
Mallards are also very adaptable and can live in urban areas that have man-made water features.
Some populations of mallards are migratory, and will fly south to warmer regions during the winter months.
In North America, mallards will migrate from Canada and northern states to Mexico and Central America, following the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways.
In Europe and Asia, mallards will migrate from northern and central countries to southern and western countries.
However, some mallards are resident and will stay in the same area year-round, especially if they have access to food and open water.

The mallard is a duck of many hues
With different colors for the males and females
The drake has a head of shiny green
And a yellow bill that is quite keen

His chest is brown and his body is grey
With a purple patch on his wing to display
The hen is more modest in her dress
With brown feathers and a buff beak, no less

She has a stripe across her eye
And a speckled neck that is hard to spy
They both have orange legs and webbed feet
And a long body that is hard to beat

The mallard is a duck that we all know
With a beauty that they always show