![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/Drey-and-Hen.jpg\")
Female (left) and male (right) Mallard<\/em>
Photo: <\/em>WildlifeNYC<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/f548af70f1b767bf912f002b27b4168e-1024x612.jpg\")
Male Mexican Duck<\/em>
Photo: <\/em>Ryan O’Donnel<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/2787-duck-hybrid-20160407-1024x569.jpg\")
Male Mallard X American Black Duck hybrid<\/em>
Photo: <\/em>Gordon Johnston<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMexican Ducks are thought to be a subspecies of Mallard, but genetic evidence indicates they are more closely related to the American Black Duck. Instead of a pronounced difference between males and females, both genders are mottled brown like the northern female. Mallards will also hybridize with other duck species, like the American Black Duck, which creates a blend of colourations and patterns (Neotropical.birds.cornell.edu 2019<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\nMallards are dabbling ducks, submerging the head and neck while upending to probe the mud for food. They have an omnivorous diet consisting of seeds, roots, and grasses, as well as insects and small aquatic vertebrates. Mallards will also graze on land for these foods (Audubon.org 2019<\/a>). They will also accept food from people at duck ponds and city parks. People commonly feed bread to wild ducks, which doesn\u2019t provide the variety of nutrients present in their natural diet. As a substitute for bread, consider feeding ducks peas, corn, grains, seeds, or lettuce instead (Allaboutbirds.org 2017<\/a>).\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/SPR_386584-what-to-feed-ducks1-5b4671d3c9e77c001a0b015e-1024x683.png\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>What to feed (and not feed!) ducks \/ <\/em>Photo: Hugo Lin<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/male-mallard-dabbling_1366127388_1200.jpg\")
Male Mallard dabbling<\/em>
Photo: Karen VK<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\nThey are widespread and common in the northern hemisphere, particularly in America, Canada, and Europe. Click here<\/a> to see an interactive map of Mallard distribution. Some Mallards that breed in northern Canada and Alaska will migrate to the southern United States to over-winter. Others do not migrate and can be found year-round in most of America and coastal British Colombia (Audubon.org 2019<\/a>). Mallards will live in most wetlands, both natural and artificial, from lush marshes to roadside ditches . Mallards are the most heavily hunted duck, estimating a third of all ducks shot in North America (Allaboutbirds.org 2017<\/a>). The Mallard is not considered at risk, but the current population trend is decreasing (Nationalgeographic.com 2019<\/a>). \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/mallard9-59511df05f9b58f0fc660403-1024x683.jpg\")
Mallard chicks<\/em>
Photo: <\/em>Jen Goellnitz<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMallards will migrate once they have formed a breeding pair. A variety of courtship behaviours are used to establish pairs, including head-bobbing (seen in the video below), swimming quickly with the head lowered to the surface of the water, and, in males, whistling while circling a female (Allaboutbirds.org 2015<\/a>) They nest on the ground or in protected cavities, and build nests out of sticks, grass and down (Nationalgeographic.com 2019<\/a>). A nest will typically have between 1-13 cream coloured eggs, but on one occasion a female was observed associating with 29 ducklings. This extreme case be be the result of brood parasitism, when females will lay their eggs in another female’s nest (Seabrook-Davison, 2014<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/files\/2019\/11\/5b296d581fb74.image_-1024x809.jpg\")
Mallard nest<\/em>
Photo: Greg Munson<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAlthough conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) sounds awful (raising 29 ducklings is a hard job!) the negative effects on the parasitized female are typically quite low, and is fairly rare in Mallards. It’s estimated that CBP occurs in 0-10% of nests. Parastic females may choose a nest based on easy detectability and quality of the nest, or nesting female (Kreisinger et al, 2010<\/a>). Parasitized nests tend to have fewer eggs than average, even after a second female has laid in them. This keeps the burden on the parasitized mother from growing too large, thus mitigating possible negative effects (Lokemoen, 1991<\/a>). When broods do become large, som consequences include decreased hatching success, increased incubation period, and increased risk of abandonment by the mother (Kreisinger et al, 2010<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Males will abandon the nest once the eggs have hatched, leaving the female to care for the offspring. Ducklings are ready to leave nest within 13 hours of hatching. The young know how to swim as soon as they hatch and can feed on their own while the mother leads them between the nest and feeding grounds (Allaboutbirds.org 2017<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n