Mallard Facts for Kids
Anas platyrhynchos · AY-nus plat-ih-RING-kos
The duck in most ponds, and the ancestor of many farm ducks.
- 🏃 51 mph83 km/h1
- ⚖️ 2 to 3.1 lb900 g to 1.4 kg2
- 📏 20 to 26 in50 to 65 cm2 long
- 🎂 lifespan: not yet checked
- 🍽️ plants and animals
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Mallards are ducks that swim in ponds. The male has a shiny green head. Only the female says quack.
A mallard tips its tail up and reaches its head underwater to eat plants, without diving. Its feathers stay dry because it spreads oil from a spot near its tail over them. Mother ducks lead their fluffy ducklings to the water soon after they hatch.
Mallards are dabbling ducks: they feed at the surface and in shallow water instead of diving deep. The male is colorful, but the female is speckled brown, which hides her when she sits on the nest. A gland near the tail makes oil, and the duck spreads it over its feathers with its bill to keep them waterproof. Mallards are the wild ancestors of most farm ducks, and many wild mallards fly south in fall.
How big is a mallard?
Mallard in numbers
| Length | 20 to 26 in50 to 65 cm2bill tip to tail tip |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 2 to 3.1 lb900 g to 1.4 kg2 |
| Top speed (flying) | 51 mph83 km/h1flying; this is the MEDIAN speed of GPS-tracked mallards in migratory flight, not a top speed |
| How long it lives | no checked number yet |
| What it eats | water plants, seeds, insects and snails |
| Where it lives | ponds, lakes and rivers across North America, Europe and Asia |
| What kind | Birds |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- Each wing has a shiny blue patch.
- Its feathers are waterproofed with oil from its own body.
- Ducklings can swim almost as soon as they hatch.
Compare the mallard
Friends and neighbours
North American beaver
North American river otter
American robinThree questions
Books about the mallard, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the mallard for free.
Where these numbers come from
- USGS, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Mallard (Q25348), checked 30 October 2026.