Mallard Ducks

Our most familiar duck species. Males are easily identified by their bottle green heads, think white neck collar, chestnut breast and yellow beak. Females look quite different, being mottled brown all over for better camouflage. This duck never dives completely under the surface of the water, but rather upends to feed on aquatic vegetation

(Information board along the River Clare). 

🦆 Fun Facts About Mallard Ducks

• Male mallards (called drakes) have shiny green heads and yellow bills. Females are brown with orange bills so they can hide better when nesting!
• They Can Sleep With One Eye Open! Mallards can shut down one half of their brain while the other half stays awake to watch for danger.
• They Quack Differently. Only the female mallard makes the classic “quack” sound. Males make quiet raspy sounds instead.
• Ducklings Can Swim Right Away: Baby mallards can swim and walk just a few hours after they hatch. They follow their mom everywhere like a little duck parade!
• They Love Water — and Air! Mallards are great swimmers, flyers, and walkers. They can fly up to 88 km/h (about 55 mph) and migrate long distances.
• Mallards live in ponds, rivers, lakes, and even city parks and have lived by the River Clare in Milltown. 
• They Talk to Their Babies Before They Hatch. The mom mallard makes soft quacking sounds while sitting on her eggs — and the ducklings can peep back from inside the eggs!
• They Take “Duck Baths”. Mallards clean themselves by flipping water over their backs and shaking their tail feathers. It is called preening.