When taking off, the wings of a mallard produce a characteristic faint whistling noise. In addition, females hiss if the nest or offspring are threatened or interfered with. When incubating a nest, or when offspring are present, females vocalize differently, making a call that sounds like a truncated version of the usual ‘quack’. Males make a sound phonetically similar to that of the female, a typical ‘quack’, but it is deeper and quieter compared to that of the female. Females have the deep ‘quack’ stereotypically associated with ducks. Females may also carry out 'inciting displays', which encourage other ducks in the flock to begin fighting. Males typically fight more than females and attack each other by repeatedly pecking at their rival's chest, ripping out feathers and even skin on rare occasions. However, during the breeding season, both male and female mallards can become aggressive, driving off competitors to themselves or their mate by charging at them. ![]() They are highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and form large flocks, which are known as "sordes". They usually feed by dabbling for plant food or grazing. Mallards are diurnal birds that spend most of their time feeding. They are attracted to bodies of water with aquatic vegetation. Water depths of less than 0.9 m (3.0 ft) are preferred, with birds avoiding areas more than a few meters deep. They can be found in both fresh- and salt-water wetlands, including parks, small ponds, rivers, lakes, and estuaries, as well as shallow inlets and open seas within sight of the coastline. ![]() They live in a wide range of habitats and climates, from the Arctic tundra to subtropical regions. Mallards are strongly migratory in the northern parts of their breeding range and winter farther south. Also in the east, it ranges to south-eastern and south-western Australia and New Zealand in the Southern hemisphere. Mallards are found across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in North America, their range extends from southern and central Alaska to Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, across the Palearctic, from Iceland and southern Greenland and parts of Morocco (North Africa) in the west, Scandinavia and Britain to the north, and to Siberia, Japan, and South Korea. Generally speaking, the positives outweigh the negatives and ducks, and other wildfowl (such as geese) have higher survival rates in large flocks.Australasian, Nearctic, Neotropical, Palearctic, Antarctic, Indomalayan, Oceanian, Afrotropical Avian Cholera is one of the examples of many diseases that can be spread through bird-to-bird contact or ingestion of contaminated water or food. When there is not enough food, some of the birds in the flock are unable to find food.ĭiseases can also be a problem when large birds are in close proximity to one another for prolonged periods. This is generally only an issue when food sources are not abundant in certain habitats. For example, the loud noises produced by the conspicuous birds can attract both predators and hunters.Īnother negative can be that the larger the flock, the more competition for food. Secondly, if a predator decides to attack, they can often get overwhelmed by the number of targets, which can confuse them and mean their attacks become much less successful.Īlthough gathering in these large flocks is mostly beneficial, there are a few negatives. ![]() As we know, ducks aren't the quietest of animals, and members of the flock are quick to notify the rest of the group. This is because they are outgoing and sociable birds.įorming these large groups means more security for ducks in general and can mean much higher survival rates for the pack.įirstly, a large group of waterfowl has much more eyes and is better at detecting any nearby predators. Why do ducks flock together in large groups?ĭucks generally feel most at ease when they are in large groups.
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