Scientific name:
Anas platyrhynchos

Natural spread:
northern hemisphere

the mallard is the most frequent and at the farthest spread swimming-duck Europe, however its habitat stretches the elderly and the new world over the whole northern hemisphere. it is the sole trunk-form of our house-ducks moreover. If one includes the quite deviant dwarf-forms on the island Laysan and the Hawaii-islands, so the type subdivides in 6 subtypes. These two island-forms occur only in tiny populations, with which the drakes (as well like with it Mexico - and the Florida-mallard) don't position any splendor-plumage. The somewhat bigger Greenland-mallard is in the coloring of our mallard the most similarly.

Way of life Many mallards, even a part of the most northern populations, remain in the brood-area also in the winter as long as ice-free water-surfaces are available. Others cancels in the narrower area around or also moves very far southern. One sees the birds so around-canceling also with us in the autumn and winters. Particularly with strong frost, they gather on close area at the coast or on rivers and canals near the cities. At this time, the pair-formation ("engagement") has taken place for the next brood-season long ago. The pairs live in monogamy and sleep narrowly together-nestled. As long as the weather admits it, it lasts perform courtship display (see below) from September until the spring. However the numerous copulations still remain unsuccessful at first since the germ-glands of the birds become active only in the spring. Then, the drakes even become its females of the öfteren "unfaithfully" and try, sometimes also quite forcible, to mate with foreign females. Between this behavior, a connection is established with a type Revierverteidigung.

Brood, molt If the male selected the Nistrevier, the female is busy from March with the nest-construction. End of March or beginning April, one finds already the first nests, that normally consist of 7-13 eggs. At first, the drake still is watchful near the alone brooding female, later, it joins together with others to smaller "molt-groups." it loses its splendor-plumage and its airworthy-ness temporarily so that it becomes ever more similar for the female. Usually, however, the silence-dress is once again replaced with the new splendor-plumage in September.

With its proverbial "mother-instinct", the female leads the boys to the water soon after slipping and holds together it in narrow family-association. If the boys became fully airworthy in the age of 8 weeks, it dissolves loosening relationship once again for itself itself. Now, also the female duck of its swinging can molt so that it only later than the boys attains its airworthy-ness in contrast to the geese.

The molt of the small-plumage lasts even longer time, sometimes until the spring, with both sexes. Meanwhile, however, all gathered the sociable mallards again for itself, and the drakes perform courtship display from September to February together. The females watch from the edge. A chain runs out from behaviors, that, with a series of tone-remarks joins, are subdivided into two sections by Oskar Heinroth, on that occasion: The "directional performs courtship display", that has the mating to the goal, follows the "society-game", that many ducks of the same type should lure.

Perform courtship display In the "society-game", the other animals are stimulated to taking part by the "introductory shake" of a drake. From times to times, the shake becomes stronger; the drake dips the beak-top slowly subsequent into the water in order to pull then the body and afterwards the head spiritedly. Before it collapses again in himself, the "grunt-whistle" sounds. The "short-high-development", with which the drake straightens up highly and points to the present ducks with the beak, follows it - with verpaarten birds always on its "wife." The drake makes itself after it quite flat and swims around under nodding head-movements ("Nickschwimmen") about the female and about other males. Usually, only one single drake performs courtship display. If however, the others participate, its movements are synchronous. If it dives deeply into the water with the breast and pulls the head so fast, that it sprays a whole water-fountain with the beak, the female is asked to come together with it.

Now, the "directional performs courtship display" follows. The male turned towards the female the back. It begins to "rush" it through fast Hinterherschwimmen. If the final Verpaarung is sure, the animals stay together, separate over shorter or longer time and find itself with the next performs courtship display. Interfere with living together another drake, it is threatened.

Maybe however also the mating-prelude immediately joins, because the spouses copulate several times in the autumn and on friendlier winter-days on the water. For this, the pair usually isolates itself from the others: Both partners present pumping - and Abbewegungen with the head, that increases more and more, through. If the duck makes itself quite flat, the drake is asked to climb on its back and to "step" it. From the duck, something is to be hardly still seen on that occasion, only the head is kept out laboriously from the water. If the drake tears head and neck abruptly on its backs, the mating is carried out, and it disappears around Nick-swimming in wide bow about the duck.