Identification Tips:
Length: 16 inches Wingspan: 36 inches
Large dabbling duck
Pale gray-brown face
Dark brown cap and eye line
Dark brown breast, belly, back and upper wing
Purple speculum without white borders
Bright silvery wing linings
Immature similar to adult
Adult male:
Greenish-yellow bill
Legs frequently bright red
Adult female:
Greenish bill with black patches
Legs generally orange
Similar species: Female, immature and eclipse male Mallards are much paler, without contrast between head and body and with white borders to a blue speculum. Hybrid Mallard x Black Ducks are often seen and usually have traces of the mallard plumage, with bluer speculum usually bordered with white on one or both edges. Mottled Duck is similar, with broader brown edgings to upperparts and bluer speculum. Female Gadwalls have a steeper forehead, gray bill, white belly, and usually shows white in the wing.
A bird of the eastern states, primarily the Atlantic Flyway and, to a lesser extent, the Mississippi. Shy and wary, regarded as the wariest of all ducks. Often seen in company of mallards, but along the Atlantic coast frequents the salt marshes and ocean much more than mallards. Flight is swift, usually in small flocks.
White wing lining in contrast to very dark body plumage is a good identification clue. The hen's quack and the drake's kwek-kwek are duplicates of the mallards.
