Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

🦆 Discover the Mallard

The mallard is one of the most well-known waterfowl in the Netherlands. You can find it in almost every ditch, pond or canal, from busy city parks to quiet polders.

🔎 At a glance

• Scientific: Anas platyrhynchos
• Habitat: The Netherlands and the rest of Europe, almost everywhere near water
• Lifestyle: often in groups, active both during the day and at dusk
• Food: aquatic plants, insects, snails, and small aquatic animals

🌎 Where does it live?

Mallards can be found wherever there is fresh water: ditches, ponds, canals, lakes, and rivers. They adapt easily and feel just as much at home in the city as in rural areas.

🐾 How it lives

Mallards forage by swimming and diving, often with their heads underwater and their tails up. Outside the breeding season, they regularly form groups, sometimes with other waterfowl.

✨ Special features of this animal

The male (drake) has a striking glossy green head and white neck ring, while the female is camouflaged brown to brood inconspicuously. The mallard is also the ancestor of almost all domesticated duck breeds.

💡 Did you know?

• The mallard is the most common duck species in the Netherlands.
• Almost all domestic ducks are descended from the mallard.
• After the breeding season, the male temporarily changes its plumage and then resembles the female.
• Mallards are good at flying and excellent at swimming and diving.

🌿 Threats & protection

The mallard is listed as Least Concern and is common. Nevertheless, clean water quality and sufficient riparian vegetation are important: pollution and disturbance of wetlands can put pressure on local populations.

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