Mallards are dabbling, or surface-feeding, ducks because they eat by tipping underwater for food—head down, feet and tail in the air—rather than diving. This drake sports a glossy green head, a white ring around its neck and a rich, chestnut-brown breast.
Mallards are dabbling, or surface-feeding, ducks because they eat by tipping underwater for food—head down, feet and tail in the air—rather than diving. This drake sports a glossy green head, a white ring around its neck and a rich, chestnut-brown breast.
The mallard duck's outer feathers are waterproof, thanks to oil that’s secreted from a gland near the tail. Beneath this tightly packed waterproof layer of feathers lies a soft, warm layer of feathers called down. Twice a year, mallards molt, or shed, their flight feathers, temporarily grounding the birds for several weeks until the feathers grow back.
