Afghanistan (NB), Albania (B) (NB), Algeria, Armenia (B) (NB), Aruba, Austria (B) (NB), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B) (NB), Belgium (B) (NB), Belize, Bermuda (B), Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B) (NB), Bulgaria (B) (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), China (mainland), Costa Rica, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB) (P), Cuba, Cyprus (B) (NB), Czech Republic (B) (NB), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Georgia (B) (NB), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Greenland (B) (NB), Guam (NB), Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B) (NB), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (NB), Iraq (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel (B), Italy (B) (NB), Japan, Jordan (NB), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Latvia (B) (NB), Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B) (NB), Lithuania (B) (NB) (P), Luxembourg (B) (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands (B) (NB), Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, North Korea (B), Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (NB) (P), Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (B) (NB), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (NB) (P), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Saudi Arabia, Serbia (B) (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB) (P), Slovenia (B) (NB), Somalia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (B) (P), Sudan, Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan (B), Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Yemen.
Vagrant to Antigua And Barbuda, Brunei Darussalam, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Gambia, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Kiribati, Mali, Martinique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Zambia.
Introduced to Australia (B), New Caledonia (PE) (B), New Zealand (B).
Unknown to Marshall Islands, Micronesia [Federated States of].
Population
Estimated population is 19,000,000 (2010).
Status LC
Habitat loss and degradtion, poisoning by lead and phosphorous, and susceptibility to avian infuenza, botulism and duck viral enteritis, are the main threats. Predation in Europe by America Mink (Neovison vison) may also be a threat.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Habits
In pairs or small flocks.
Food
Mostly vegetation, including leaves, shoots and seeds and fruits of aquatic plants. Also small fish, and insects and their larvae.
Voice
Male: a quiet 'yeeb' or low 'kwck'. A weak nasal 'crrrib'. Female: varied but includes the familiar quack, that is ofen repeated many times in quick succession, a boisterous 'quack, quack-quack'.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) [XC717926]
by Irish Wildlife Sounds from Tacumshane, Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland (nocturnal flight call)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) [XC720205]
by Feliu L\u00f3pez i Gelats from Ratutr\u00e4sket, Robertsfors \u00d6, Robertsfors Municipality, V\u00e4sterbotten County, Sweden (call)
Nest
A bowl of grass, lined with feathers and down, well-hidden in thick cover or under bushes, on the ground, sometimes in holes, usually near water. Also artificial sites including nest boxes.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 8 - 12; smooth and glossy, light green-buff or grey-buff; oval; 48 x 42 mm. Incubation: 26 - 28 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in about 56 - 60 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with American Black Duck (Anas rubripes), Meller's Duck (Anas melleri) and Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata). American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) sometimes considered a subspecies of Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Probable unstable hybrids produced by Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa). Subspecies diazi, wyvilliana and laysanensis are also often considered full species.
Anas platyrhynchos was previously split into Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Anas diazi by Stotz et al. (1996) but this is not followed by BirdLife International.
The following 7 subspecies are recognised:
platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 - Most of Palearctic and Nearctic.
fulvigula Ridgway, 1874 - South-central, south-eastern. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula).
maculosa Sennett, 1889 - Atlantic southern USA to Mexico. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula).
diazi Ridgway, 1886 - Extreme southern USA, from Arizona to Texas, south to central Mexico. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mexican Mallard (Anas diazi).
wyvilliana P. L. Sclater, 1878 - Hawaiian Islands (Kauai and Oahu). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Hawaiian Duck (Anas wyvilliana).
laysanensis Rothschild, 1892 - Laysan I. (north-western Hawaiian Islands). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet