The mallard or wild duck is a dabbling duck
that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia,
and North Africa. It has been
introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina,
Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males have green heads, while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both
sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or blue
feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to
have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg. Mallards
live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social
animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes.

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