Name

Anas platyrhynchos

Mallard

Framing

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Aves

Order: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Genus: Anas

Species: platyrhynchos

Habitat

Aquatic environments. Lakes and lagoons, also rivers and other aquatic environments. In any case, it shows a preference for shallow or shallow waters.

Feeding

Omnivorous, they eat seeds, small invertebrates and aquatic plants. It also frequents meadows, cereal fields and holm oak pastures to feed on grass, sprouts and acorns.

Distribution

Virtually cosmopolitan, with introduced populations in south-eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Conservation status

Not threatened

Additional information

Free-living. Gregarious, in pairs during breeding. Male with green head and white collar, female with blue mirror on the wing. Characteristic features in the design of this duck are, on the one hand, the two black, curly feathers on the tail and, on the other, the violet-blue mirror - hence the name bluish - which is very evident in flight. As with most Anatidae, this species shows marked sexual dimorphism. In this case, the females are somewhat smaller than the males and are very cryptic, with a mottled brownish plumage in which only the mirror, of the same colour as the male, stands out.