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The mallard (/ ˈ m æ l ɑːr d, ˈ m æ l ər d /) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) 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.
A male mallard. The speculum feathers are bright blue with white edges. The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers, or remiges, of some birds. Examples of the colour(s) of the speculum in a number of ducks are: Common teal and green-winged teal: Iridescent green edged with buff. [1]
The retention of ancestral genetic variation can be caused by incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and introgression after secondary contact. These two factors can cause genetic variation to be shared between closely related species which is possibly why an American black duck or a Mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) may have notable white on its speculum or a Mexican duck may have flecks of green.
This is a list of the breeds of domestic duck which have official recognition at national or international level. [1]Most breeds of duck derive from the wild mallard, Anas platyrhyncos, while a small minority are descendants of the Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata.
The male Hawaiian duck has an average length of 48–50 cm (19–19.5 in) and the female has an average length of 40–43 cm (15.5–17 in). [10] On average, the male weighs 604 grams (21.3 ounces) and the female weighs 460 grams (16 ounces). [11] The Hawaiian duck is typically smaller than the mallard by 20 to 30 percent. [12] [13]
Most breeds and varieties of domestic duck derive from the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos; a few derive from Cairina moschata, the Muscovy duck, or are mulards, hybrids of these with A. platyrhynchos stock. [2] Domestication has greatly altered their characteristics. Domestic ducks are mostly promiscuous, where wild mallards are monogamous ...
This is supported by the observation that in mallard × American black duck hybrids, females of both taxa prefer the sexually dimorphic mallard drakes over the dull-plumaged black duck drakes; [23] [24] that the green-winged teal is in some aspects—such as the less contrasting nuptial plumage—intermediate between the common and speckled ...
The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) [note 1] or mottled mallard is a medium-sized species of dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female mallard and the American black duck . It is closely related to those species , and is sometimes erroneously considered a subspecies of the former.