Description Known in Hawaii for being commonplace these ducks are plentiful throughout North America and Eurasia. The male is brightly colored and has a metallic green head and neck. separating its head and neck and its purplish-brown breast is a small white ring. The male also has a bright yellow bill. The females are mottled brown, have a brown bill and pale eyes. They can grow up to 20-23 inches long with a wingspan of 30-40 inches as an adult. On the side of their long wings are a blue streak and another white bar.

Lifecycle Mallards breed as early as age one where they begin to migrate upward to their breeding areas in Canada or the Northern United States. They also breed in Hawaii and Alaska. Mallards attract a mate by ruffling their bright feathers however one seventh of the male birds are without a partner. Males are known to chase, pester, and peck at a female to weaken and the male will breed with her. They also cross breed with ducks like The American Black Duck, the Northern Pintail, and The Hawaiian Duck. The female lays the 9- 13 creamy to greenish buff colored eggs in a nest, usually in tall grass. The female alone will incubate for a about a month. Within 16 hours of hatching the birds are lead by their mother to water to have their first swim .The chicks can feed and swim once they hatch, but aren't independent for another 52-70 days.

Habitat The Mallard is found primarily in wetland habitats.

Diet This dabbling duck feeds on insects and larvae, aquatic plants and seeds and aquatic invertebrates. It forages on the surface of the water and will occasionally make a dive in deeper water.