Mallard

Unnoticed biodiversity

Identification

Common name: Mallard
Latin name: Anas platyrhynchos
Length: 50–65 cm
Distinguishing features: females are brown streaked with beige and white; males are pale grey, with a white collar marking the green head and neck apart from the purplish-brown breast.
Habitat: aquatic
Diet: opportunistic, omnivorous
Status: Least Concern in the Ile-de-France region
Nesting period: February/March to late July

Seen in the garden

The Mallard is one of the most prominent species in the Tuileries Garden, which hosts up to thirty individuals.

It is drawn to the garden’s six ornamental ponds.

In the spring, small wooden ‘footbridges’ are installed in each pond to allow the ducklings to go back and forth between water and solid ground.

The female Mallards build their nests in the flower beds and tall grasses, hidden by the vegetation. During breeding season, the gardeners take measures to protect the nests.

Mallard - male calls then female calls then nasal variant of female calls and mixture of male and female calls

Audio

1 min.

Did you know?

Seen in the garden
The Mallard is one of the most prominent species in the Tuileries Garden, which hosts up to thirty individuals. It is drawn to the garden’s six ornamental ponds. In the spring, small wooden ‘footbridges’ are installed in each pond to allow the ducklings to go back and forth between water and solid ground. The female Mallards build their nests in the flower beds and tall grasses, hidden by the vegetation. During breeding season, the gardeners take measures to protect the nests.

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