THE NATURAL WORLD OF SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND THROUGH THE LENS OF CAPTAIN YVES- PART 14
The Mallard Duck, the bird pretty much everyone can identify and has probably fed at the park!
Mallards occur throughout North America and Eurasia in ponds and parks as well as wilder wetlands and estuaries.
The males and females look very different. The males bold emerald green head, grey flanks and curling black tail feathers. Females in contrast are light brow when darker flecks and a patch of blue on the flanks.
Ducks are strong fliers; migrating flocks of Mallards have been estimated traveling at 55 miles per hour.
The standard duck’s quack is the sound of a female Mallard. Males don’t quack; they make a quieter, rasping sound.
The Mallard is the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds.
Mallard pairs form long before the spring breeding season, pairing takes place in the fall.