Wednesday 9 September 2009

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Anas ("duck") platyrhynchos ("broad billed")
Adult male Mallard (subspecies A. p. platyrhynchos) at Geddington, Northants - April 2010

Featured Subspecies: Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos
Weight: 700-1600g  /  Length: 50-65cm  /  Wingspan: 81-98cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The mallard is almost certainly the most recognisable duck in the UK, if not much of the wider world, and is also the most common. It can be found on many rivers, ponds, lakes and assorted other bodies of water - it also is likely to be easily bribed to very close views by use of feed if in a public sort of location where they are used to humans.  It is also the genetic base stock of almost all domestic ducks, and as such you will likely also encounter a lot of "muddy mallards" - ones where various domestic breeds have bred together producing some fairly variable result.

Related Species:
Order:
Anseriformes 
Family: Anatidae 
Genus: Anas
SubspeciesA. p. platyrhynchos, A. p. conboschas, A. p. diazi  

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Locally abundant breeding resident (61,000-146,000 pairs) and common Winter visitor (719,000 birds)
JAPAN - Japanese - マガモ / Ma-gamo ("True Wildduck")
A fairly common resident.
 - KYOTO 2013 TRIP: A few seen on the Kamo River in Central Kyoto.
UNITED STATES 
Found throughout.
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen in 
 Berkeley

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, WikipediaXeno-canto

No comments:

Post a Comment