Mallard
Quick facts
Common name: Mallard
Scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos
Body Length: 51 - 62cm
Wingspan: 81 - 98cm
Weight: 750 - 1500g
Colour: Male - dark green head, yellow bill and is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. Female - mainly brown with an orange bill.
Lifespan 5-10 years
Origin: Native
Information
What do they eat: Plants, leaves, shoots and seeds of water plants. They pick food from the surface of the water or by submerging their head and neck below the surface, they also gather food from deeper water by upending themselves.
The Mallard is the most common and widespread duck in the UK, they can be found anywhere where there is suitable wetland habitat even in urban areas.
They tend to lives in small flocks and can be very tame when they are used to living near humans.