From Opus

Male at front, Female behind
Photo by Paul Sansom

Includes: Mexican Duck

Anas platyrhynchos

[edit] Identification

Drake

• Green head separated from a brown breast by a white ring.
• Yellow bill.
• Curly central tail feathers.
  

Female

• Streaked brown body
• Brown bill with a variable amount of orange around the edge

Both have a white-edged blue speculum
Eclipse male resembles female, but retains yellow bill.

The Mexican subspecies is brownish overall, with lighter colored head and neck, both sexes appearing similar to the northern female except for bill color, which is bright greenish-yellow.

Has been domesticated and many unusual Mallards are either escaped domestics or hybrids with such birds.

[edit] Distribution

The most abundant and widespread duck in the region breeding throughout Europe from Iceland and northern Scandinavia south to the Mediterranean, on some Mediterranean islands and throughout Turkey. Rare and local breeder in North-West Africa and Cyprus.

Resident or partial migrant in Iceland, the British Isles and Continental Europe from Spain east to the Baltic States and south to Greece and Turkey. Summer visitor to much of Scandinavia and Russia.

The Mexican duck ranges deeper into central Mexico, as far south as the latitude of Michoacán.

Vagrant north to Svalbard and south to the Azores where has bred.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

Northern

• A. p. platyrhynchos:

• Holarctic; winters to Mexico, North Africa, India and Borneo

• A. p. conboschas:

• Coastal south-western Greenland

• A. p. diazi:(Mexican)

• Southern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona south to central Mexico

Some authorities consider the Mexican Duck (A.p. diazi) as a separate species, A. diazi.

[edit] Habitat

Virtually any kind of freshwater from small ponds on farms and in town parks up to the largest reservoirs, and also swamps and marshes.

In winter especially, also on estuaries and sometimes on sheltered seas.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

Diet includes insects, seed, roots, grain either whilst dabbling or on land.

[edit] Vocalisation

Male: Quiet kwack, nasally rheb.
Female: Loud traditional quack

[edit] External Links