Mallards in Flight

by Elizabeth Winter

Title

Mallards in Flight

Artist

Elizabeth Winter

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Most Mallard ducks spend a majority of their day in the water.

Twice a year, mallard ducks shed the feathers they use for flying. Until the feathers grow back, which takes a few weeks, they cannot fly.

The female mallard ducks make the familiar duck quacking sound where as the males make a rasping sound for their calls.

Ducks have many predators. Birds and large fish attack ducklings (baby ducks). Their nests are raided by foxes and large birds such as eagles and hawks. Adult ducks are fast fliers which help them escape from predators.

A mother duck will usually lay 10 or so eggs. She tends to the eggs by herself in a nest lined with warm down she has plucked from her body.

Shortly after ducklings hatch the mother duck will lead them to the water. From that point on they usually do not return to the nest. After around 2 months, the ducklings can fly and become independent.

The Mallards well known waddle is due to the fact that it has legs set far back on its body.

The outer feathers of this duck are waterproof due to oil secreted from a gland near the tail. Under the waterproof feathers are softer feathers called down.

Mallard ducks escape the cold winters of the north by flying south during this season. They fly in flocks and often to the same spot year after year. They rely on landforms such as coast lines and valleys to guide them.

A group of baby ducks is called a brood.

Due to its beautiful feathers the mallard duck is one of the most popular ducks for bird watchers and hunters.

A fun fact about the Mallard is that sometimes a baby duck will ride on its mothers back as she swims through the water.

Uploaded

October 22nd, 2016

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