BREEDING BIRDS: MALLARD

MALLARD

(Anas platyrhynchos)

Description: The male is readily identified by metallic green head and neck, yellow bill and narrow white collar, with chestnut-colored breast; black central tail feathers curl up. Both sexes have white tail, white underwings, bright blue speculum with both sides bordered in white. Females have orange bill with black markings.

Habitat: Can be found in shallow ponds, lakes, marshes and flooded fields.

Diet: Seeds and shoots of sedge, grass and aquatic vegetation, grain, acorns, insects and aquatic inverts.

Displays: Displays are frequent, but subtle and brief. Males swim with heads and tails shaking, with breast clear of water with necks outstretched. They also raise their wingtips, heads and tails briefly. Females often incite displays to provoke males to attack other males or females.

Nest: Usually near water; of cattails, reeds, grass, concealed by vegetation. Most nest on ground.

Eggs: Females usually lay eight to 10 dull yellow or greenish eggs.

Natural history notes: Mallards are seasonally monogamous, switching mates each year. Male territorial defense is centered on female. Male deserts after first week of incubation to join male flocks.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas (now in its fifth and final year), call Sea and Sage Audubon Society member Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).