The State of the UK’s Birds 2011 report provides the results of
bird surveys, monitoring schemes and projects from across the UK. The latest wintering
population figures on wetland birds shows that several species have exceeded
previous maxima, while others have dramatically fallen to an all-time low. Overall,
numbers of wintering waterbirds have been in gradual decline since the late
1990s. One of the greatest losses recorded in the report was for the Mallard.
The Mallard
- Anas platyrhynchos - is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and
has been introduced to South Africa,
New Zealand and Australia. The
Mallard is the ancestor of most domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other
species of genus Anas. Hybrids from Mallards
and Yellow-billed duck in South
Africa are fertile a major cause of concern.
Description
The breeding male
is unmistakable, with a bright bottle-green head, black rear end and a
yellowish orange bill tipped with black. It has a white collar which demarcates
the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey brown wings, and a pale grey
belly. The dark tail has white borders. The female Mallard is a mottled light
brown.
Call
The male has a
nasal call, and a high-pitched whistle, while the female has a deeper quack.
Food
The Mallard is
omnivorous and very flexible in its food choice. Its diet may vary based on
several factors, including the stage of the breeding cycle, short term
variations in available food. Food mainly made up of insects, seeds and plant
matter. It usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing.
Breeding
Mallards usually
form pairs, only until the female lays eggs at the start of nesting season
which is around the beginning of spring. The male will then join up with other
males to await the moulting period. The clutch is 8 to 12 eggs, which are
incubated for between 27 to 28 days. The young fledge between 50 to 60 days.
Conservation Status – Least Concern – However the report
shows dramatic declies in numbers in the UK.
Birdwatching
The Mallard is
widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, North America from southern
and central Alaska to Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, and across
Eurasia, from Iceland and
southern Greenland and parts of Morocco
in the west, Scandinavia to the north, and to Siberia,
Japan, and China in the
east.