Wikipedia: The garganey (Spatula querquedula) is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Bangladesh (in the natural reservoirs of Sylhet district) and Australasia during the winter of the Northern hemisphere, where large flocks can occur.

Conservation status: Least Concern

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garganey

The Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbling duck in North America. This small Male was seen among Canada Geese and Mallards at Bowmanville Harbour.

In October of 23 my wife and I dabbled with the idea of adopting a dog, within a minute of casually searching an adoption site I can across a puppy that I just could not stopping admiring so made the call.. Odin, then snoopy, was all the way in the most southern part of Alabama and being in Rhode Island.. that’s a long drive. Fortunately, the adoption does trips up north once a month making stops along the way dropping off hundreds of dogs and cats, these people are amazing human beings giving new homes to animals that would have otherwise been stray or even worse.. The day finally came on November 19th, 2022. We woke up at 330am to drive to NY to meet the drop off, and this was where we met for the first time, this adorable little goof and he’s made my life soo much better! This photo was taken when Odin was just over 3 months old, he is now about a year and half and it’s the best dog I could ask for. PLEASE.. if you are thinking of adopting, I’m pleading, think of adoption. There are thousands of loving pets looking for homes, the right one is out there I fucking promise you that. The Island of Misfits Rescue is where Odin was born and they are amazing people doing amazing work. They are caring, loving people who have a huge task of taking in so many animals in search of new homes. It’s remarkable what they are doing. That’s all, thank you if you read this. ADOPT.

Just a wee bit of messing around on a cool grey day! The light was lovely but there were distractions so I had a wee mess. Normally I would prefer not to touch a wild animal shot but the light was so good and the background, although dark, was not.

Mom and Dad were close by but seemed to have no concern for me as I stood snapping away, I was withing 20 feet of the little ones, and zooming in on the lens, I was afraid they would soon be inside my focus range.

I had oodles of fun with Signature Geralt and my shopping haul from the Signature Event. Check out my blog for credits:

billybeaverhausen.com/2018/07/18/dabbling-with-geralt-vi/

The dramatic breeding plumage of the drake Cinnamon Teal is hard to miss. Bright rusty/cinnamon head and body plumage with distinct blue upper wing coverts and white wing linings. While many of our marsh ducks are found from coast to coast, the Cinnamon Teal is strictly western. Unique among our northern dabbling ducks, this teal also has nesting populations in South America. Copyright © Kim Toews/All Rights Reserved.

Sony ILCE-7R

300mm F2.8

The mallard or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.

The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black speculum feathers which commonly also include iridescent blue feathers especially among males. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. This species is the main ancestor of most breeds of domesticated ducks.

The mallard is a medium-sized waterfowl species although it is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks. It is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long (of which the body makes up around two-thirds), has a wingspan of 81–98 cm (32–39 in),[16] and weighs 0.72–1.58 kg (1.6–3.5 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 25.7 to 30.6 cm (10.1 to 12.0 in), the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 4.1 to 4.8 cm (1.6 to 1.9 in).

The breeding male mallard is unmistakable, with a glossy bottle-green head and white collar which demarcates the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The rear of the male is black, with the dark tail having white borders. The bill of the male is a yellowish orange tipped with black while that of the female is generally darker ranging from black to mottled orange. The female mallard is predominantly mottled with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat and neck with a darker crown and eye-stripe.

Owing to their highly 'malleable' genetic code, Mallards can display a large amount of variation, as seen here with this female, who displays faded or 'apricot' plumage.

Both male and female mallards have distinct iridescent purple blue speculum feathers edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest, though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult. Upon hatching, the plumage colouring of the duckling is yellow on the underside and face (with streaks by the eyes) and black on the back (with some yellow spots) all the way to the top and back of the head. Its legs and bill are also black. As it nears a month in age, the duckling's plumage will start becoming drab, looking more like the female (though its plumage is more streaked) and its legs will lose their dark grey colouring. Two months after hatching, the fledgling period has ended and the duckling is now a juvenile. Between three and four months of age, the juvenile can finally begin flying as its wings are fully developed for flight (which can be confirmed by the sight of purple speculum feathers). Its bill will soon lose its dark grey colouring and its sex can finally be distinguished visually by three factors. The bill colouring is yellow in males, black and orange for females. The breast feathers are reddish-brown for males, brown for females. The centre tail feather is curled for males (called a drake feather), straight for females.[citation needed]

During the final period of maturity leading up to adulthood (6–10 months of age), the plumage of female juveniles remains the same while the plumage of male juveniles slowly changes to its characteristic colours.[citation needed] This plumage change also applies to adult mallard males when they transition in and out of their non-breeding eclipse plumage at the beginning and the end of the summer moulting period. The adulthood age for mallards is 14 months and the average life expectancy is 3 years, but they can live to twenty.

In captivity, domestic ducks come in wild-type plumages, white, and other colours. Most of these colour variants are also known in domestic mallards not bred as livestock, but kept as pets, aviary birds, etc., where they are rare but increasing in availability.

A noisy species, the female has a deeper quack stereotypically associated with ducks. Male mallards also make a sound which is phonetically similar to that of the female, but it is a deep and raspy sound which can also sound like mek or whak. When incubating a nest, or when offspring are present, Females vocalise differently, making a call which sounds like a truncated version of the usual quack. They will also hiss if the nest or their offspring are threatened or interfered with.

The mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimize heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare, as they lack external ears. However, the bill of ducks is very well supplied with blood vessels and is vulnerable to cold.[citation needed]

Due to the malleability of the mallard's genetic code, which gives it its vast interbreeding capability, mutations in the genes that decide plumage colour are very common and have resulted in a wide variety of hybrids such as Brewer's duck (mallard × gadwall, Anas strepera).

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, High Island, Chambers County, Texas

The yellow-billed pintail (Anas georgica) is a South American dabbling duck of the genus Anas with three described subspecies.

The yellow-billed pintail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the ducks, geese, and swans in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas georgica. Gmelin based his description on the "Georgia duck" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his A General Synopsis of Birds. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a water-colour drawing of the duck by Georg Forster who had accompanied James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The watercolour was painted in 1775 in South Georgia. This picture is now the holotype for the species and is held by the Natural History Museum in London. The genus name Anas is the Latin word for a duck.

Three subspecies are recognised:

A. g. niceforoi Wetmore & Borrero, 1946 – east-central Colombia (extinct)

A. g. spinicauda Vieillot, 1816 – south Colombia to south Argentina, south Chile, and the Falkland Islands

A. g. georgica Gmelin, JF, 1789 – South Georgia

The yellow-billed pintail has a brown head and neck. The bill is yellow with a black tip and a black stripe down the middle. The tail is brownish and pointed. The upper wing is grayish-brown, and the secondaries are blackish-green. The rest of the body is buffish brown with varying-sized black spots. The species is sometimes confused with yellow-billed teal (Anas flavirostris) but can be differentiated by the yellow stripes on its bill, its larger size, and its tendency not to form large groups. The nominate subspecies is smaller and darker than Anas g. spinicauda. The yellow-billed pintail forms a superspecies with the northern pintail (Anas acuta).

The range includes much of South America, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia. The nominate and smallest subspecies, the South Georgia pintail A. g. georgica, is thought to number between 1000 and 1500 pairs and is found only in South Georgia. The Chilean, or brown, pintail A. g. spinicauda is widespread on the South American mainland from extreme southern Colombia southwards, as well as in the Falkland Islands, and numbers well over 110,000. Niceforo's pintail A. g. niceforoi, formerly found in central Colombia, is believed to be extinct, having been last recorded in 1952 (and described only in 1946). Their habitat ranges from high-elevation lakes and marshes to low-elevation lakes and rivers and coasts in open country.

The nest is placed on the ground in vegetation close to water. It is lined with grass and down. The clutch is 4 to 10 eggs which hatch after incubation for around 26 days. The chicks have dark brown down above and yellow down below.

In high-altitude populations of yellow-billed pintail, hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than in lower-altitude populations, which can be attributable to substitutions in their beta-globin gene. These substitutions are shared by speckled teal because of introgressive hybridization between the two species. Gene flow between populations also suggests that yellow-billed pintails that are heterozygous for the βA hemoglobin subunit may be able to acclimate to high altitudes more efficiently than those that are homozygous for the βA hemoglobin subunit.

The Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbling duck in North America. Adult males have a cinnamon-coloured head with a wide green crescent that extends from the eye to the back of the head. In flight, both sexes flash deep-green wing patches in the secondaries (specula). Copyright © Kim Toews and Kim Toews Photography. Please contact Kim Toews for purchasing and publishing options.

Custom prints available.

The mallard (/ˈmælɑːrd, ˈmælərd/) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on their wings and belly, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm (32–39 in) and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb). Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. This species is the main ancestor of most breeds of domestic ducks.

The female lays eight to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff spotless eggs, on alternate days. Incubation takes 27 to 28 days and fledging takes 50 to 60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.

The mallard is considered to be a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Unlike many waterfowl, mallards are considered an invasive species in some regions. It is a very adaptable species, being able to live and even thrive in urban areas which may have supported more localised, sensitive species of waterfowl before development. The non-migratory mallard interbreeds with indigenous wild ducks of closely related species through genetic pollution by producing fertile offspring. Complete hybridisation of various species of wild duck gene pools could result in the extinction of many indigenous waterfowl. The wild mallard is the ancestor of most domestic ducks, and its naturally evolved wild gene pool gets genetically polluted by the domestic and feral mallard populations.

Just a picture of Leo doing one of the things he likes to do best......dabbling in the birdbath.

This cat is weird. He doesn't seem to care that he's sitting in about 3 inches of water.

Now, I just have to keep an eye on him until his bum dries out. He's been known to slip into the house and lay around on the couch or even worse....my bed when he's like this.

Nothing like putting you face down on a hairy, WET pillow! Yuck.

The desk & seat that I made myself :) They of course are not perfect, but I'm proud of them anyways ^-^

Dabbling in more sci-fi microscale ships! It looks better in real life. :( Sorry that I haven't been particularly active on flickr, esp. in uploading, haven't had the time.

(Anas platalea) A captive dabbling duck native to South America, seen at Llanelli WWT.

SPONSORS:

~DABBLE

--->NOA DRAPES

--->NOA CHAIR

--->NOA RUG

--->NOA PLANTER

--->NOA SIDE TABLE

--->NOA COFFEE TABLE

All at the Jail Event this month!

Click here for full credits

Thank you, everyone, for looking, your comments, and favs.

20230921-IMG_2132

Buy Lingerie Here: marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Dabble-Dooya-Anastasia-Linge... Blogged: kirstentacular.blogspot.com/2015/04/kirstens-digits-and-b... Anypose, Aushka&Co, Blacklace Beauty, Boom, Challenge, Dabble Dooya, Glam Affair, IKON, Lingerie, Maitreya, Mon Cheri, N-core, SLink, Truth, Vista

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Today La Maquisarde and I had the great pleasure of meeting Alex and her husband Mark..We gave them a tour of our area and had a great day!!!

www.flickr.com/photos/99667240@N00/

www.flickr.com/photos/alexandraphotos/

Near The Gulf Of Mexico

Naples, Florida

USA

Click on image to enlarge.

The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck native to Mexico, Central, and South America. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida, Louisiana, and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas as well as in many other parts of North America, including southern Canada. Feral Muscovy ducks are found in New Zealand, Australia, and in parts of Europe.

They are large ducks, with the males about 76 cm (30 in) long, and weighing up to 7 kg (15 lb). Females are considerably smaller, and only grow to 3 kg (6.6 lb), roughly half the males' size. The bird is predominantly black and white, with the back feathers being iridescent and glossy in males, while the females are more drab. The amount of white on the neck and head is variable, as well as the bill, which can be yellow, pink, black, or any mixture of these. They may have white patches or bars on the wings, which become more noticeable during flight. Both sexes have pink or red wattles around the bill, those of the male being larger and more brightly colored.

This non-migratory species normally inhabits forested swamps, lakes, streams and nearby grassland and farm crops, and often roosts in trees at night. The Muscovy duck's diet consists of plant material obtained by grazing or dabbling in shallow water, and small fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, and millipedes. This is an aggressive duck; males often fight over food, territory or mates. The females fight with each other less often. Some adults will peck at the ducklings if they are eating at the same food source.

The Muscovy duck has benefited from nest boxes in Mexico, but is somewhat uncommon in much of the east of its range due to excessive hunting. It is not considered a globally threatened species by the IUCN however, as it is widely distributed.

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March 18 - April 8

Mallards dabbling for food in the Dunajec river.

Apples at Creasy's Apple Dabble Farms, Waupoos Ontario.

Five Teal ducks enjoying the sunshine on a cold winters morning, dabbling in the mud or the River Deben Woodbridge Suffolk

Another session of dabbling with the Signature Geralt body. Head over to my blog for the details: billybeaverhausen.com/2019/05/25/dabbling-with-geralt-epi...

dancing in dabbled delight

one and two with words unspoken

still strength

standing face to face

decades

memories

stewards of earth

starlight safe

fauna resting

nature

nurture

seasonally stable

majestic force

sunburn golden light

floods then fires

drought then rain

instinct survival

with journeys joy

Wood Duck and Lesser Scaup

Canard Branchu et Petite Fuligule

(Thanks to ericsoner ericrstoner for identification)

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www.youtube.com/user/sofarsogut/videos

Columbia Children's Arboretum, NE Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon (December 9th, 2020). 8. Suburban arboretum and park.

Female, one of 2 female shovelers resident at the park the last week or so.

Another shot of the same individual--

www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/50772594643/in/album-721576426...

More Shoveler photos--

www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/albums/72157642698380395

Dabbling Duck at the Klostersee

Near The Gulf Of Mexico

Naples, Florida

USA

Click on image to enlarge.

Wild bird at the local zoo. I put my image in the zoo area on the map, and it shows up again at Lake Park, which is wrong.

The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck native to Mexico, Central, and South America. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida, Louisiana, and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas as well as in many other parts of North America, including southern Canada. Feral Muscovy ducks are found in New Zealand, Australia, and in parts of Europe.

They are large ducks, with the males about 76 cm (30 in) long, and weighing up to 7 kg (15 lb). Females are considerably smaller, and only grow to 3 kg (6.6 lb), roughly half the males' size. The bird is predominantly black and white, with the back feathers being iridescent and glossy in males, while the females are more drab. The amount of white on the neck and head is variable, as well as the bill, which can be yellow, pink, black, or any mixture of these. They may have white patches or bars on the wings, which become more noticeable during flight. Both sexes have pink or red wattles around the bill, those of the male being larger and more brightly colored.

This non-migratory species normally inhabits forested swamps, lakes, streams and nearby grassland and farm crops, and often roosts in trees at night. The Muscovy duck's diet consists of plant material obtained by grazing or dabbling in shallow water, and small fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, and millipedes. This is an aggressive duck; males often fight over food, territory or mates. The females fight with each other less often. Some adults will peck at the ducklings if they are eating at the same food source.

The Muscovy duck has benefited from nest boxes in Mexico, but is somewhat uncommon in much of the east of its range due to excessive hunting. It is not considered a globally threatened species by the IUCN however, as it is widely distributed.

'Togetherness'. Female left and Male right...a breeding pair of Shoveler ducks surface feeding together, East Yorkshire.

Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.

Shoveler

Anus clypeata

Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in winter.

Species information

Category: Waterfowl

Statistics

Length: 47-53cm

Wingspan: 77cm

Weight: 630g

Average lifespan: 3 years

Conservation status

Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

When to see

January to December

About

A common dabbling duck, particularly during the winter, shovelers feed by sweeping their large, flat bills back and forth through the water, filtering out small invertebrates, plant seeds and other plant matter.

How to identify

The shoveler lives up to its name - it can be distinguished by its long, broad 'shovel' of a bill. The male has a dark green head, white breast and orangey-brown sides during the breeding season. Females are mottled brown, but have a pale blue forewing.

Distribution

Nests in southern and eastern England and in Scotland. More common in the winter, when it is quite widespread throughout the country.

Habitats: FreshwaterWetlands

Did you know?

As with many duck species, male (or 'drake') shovelers moult their colourful feathers when the breeding season is over, and go into 'eclipse' plumage - a mottled brown, just like the female (or 'hen'). This helps to camouflage them from predators.

Conservation status: Common and widespread.

Family: Ducks and Geese

Habitat: Marshes, ponds; in winter, also salt bays. In summer in open country such as prairie, marsh, or tundra, in vicinity of shallow water. In migration and winter on alkaline lakes, fresh marshes, tidal estuaries, or any shallow waters with extensive muddy margins, including stagnant or polluted waters not much favoured by other ducks.

Many of the dabbling ducks use their flat bills to strain food items from the water, but the big spatulate bill of the Northern Shoveler is adapted to take this habit to the extreme. Flocks of shovelers often swim along with their big bills barely submerged in front of them, straining food from the muddy soup of shallow waters. Despite their heavy-set build, shovelers are good fliers; at large gatherings, groups often are seen taking off, circling the area repeatedly, then alighting again.

Feeding Behavior

Forages mainly by swimming slowly forward with the bill skimming the surface or with the head partly submerged, often swinging the bill from side to side as it sifts food from the muddy water. Seldom up-ends, rarely dives, seldom feeds on land.

Eggs

9-12, sometimes 6-14. Shades of pale olive. If first clutch of eggs is destroyed, replacement clutch usually has fewer eggs. Incubation is by female only, 21-27 days. Young: within a few hours after eggs hatch, female leads young to water, generally keeping them close to cover of marsh vegetation. Young are capable of flight 52-60 days after hatching.

Young

Within a few hours after eggs hatch, female leads young to water, generally keeping them close to cover of marsh vegetation. Young are capable of flight 52-60 days after hatching.

Diet

Varies with season and habitat. In winter may feed mostly on seeds and other parts of aquatic plants, such as sedges, pond weeds, grasses, and others. Also (especially in summer) eats mollusks, insects, crustaceans, sometimes small fish.

Nesting

Pair formation begins in winter and continues during spring migration. Several males may court one female, gathering around her on water. Each male in turn attempts to lead female away, by swimming away or by short flight; female indicates acceptance by flying away with male. Male remains with female longer than in most ducks, often through part of incubation period. Nest site is usually close to water, generally in area of short grass. Nest (built by female) is a shallow depression partly filled with dried grasses and weeds, lined with down. Audubon info.

Slapton Ley South Hams Devon.

The last day of April 2025 and another trip to WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.

There was a group of six Gadwall flying around over the outer fields and Tack Piece Lagoon at Slimbridge. I Spent time catching individual Ducks.

The Gadwall is a very grey-coloured dabbling duck, a little smaller than the Mallard, and with an obvious black rear end. It shows a white wing patch in flight. When seen close up the grey/brown colour is made up of exquisitely fine barring and speckling.

try dabbling in L

'Walking on Water'. Two Drake Mallards, taking off from the water, West Yorkshire.

Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages ...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.

There are six hundred and twenty species of birds in the UK ...This little photogenic dabbling duck chap Mr Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) with his beautiful colours always shows up and never fails to disappoint me. The name Mallard originally referred to any wild drake.

Mallard

The expression “water off a duck’s back” is a reminder of the waterproof qualities of the feathers. They are kept waterproof by regular applications of oil from the preen gland.

Scoring a duck in cricket reflects the fact that the 0 on the score sheet resembles the shape of a duck’s egg.

Mallard remain a popular sporting bird: they can be shot inland from 1 September to 31 January.

Ducklings are almost exclusively insect eaters, only turning to a mainly vegetarian diet as they get older.

Historically, commercial duck decoys caught thousands of mallard every winter, with most of the birds caught being sent to Leadenhall Market.

A duck doesn’t feed her brood, as they are capable of finding their own food as soon as they leave the nest.

Once all the eggs have hatched the duck leads the brood away to water. They never return to the nest.

A typical clutch is from nine to 13 eggs, but as many as 18, laid by the same duck, have been recorded.

Incubation takes 27-28 days, and all the eggs hatch within the same 24-hour period.

During the summer moult the drake loses his fine feathers and looks very much like the duck.

Ducks will lay their eggs in a wide variety of sites, from grassy riverbanks to the tops of tower blocks. The downy young can survive jumps from great heights.

The mallard displays classic sexual dimorphism, which means that the drake’s plumage is quite unlike that of the duck’s.

Though they will pair up in the autumn, the drake only remains with his partner until she starts incubating, and has nothing to do with rearing the ducklings.

The Victorians knew the mallard simply as the wild duck.

Only the female, or duck, makes the familiar quacking. The drake’s call is a much softer and quieter note.

Though northern populations are migratory, European mallard rarely move south of the Mediterranean.

Mallard are widespread throughout Europe and Asia, occurring as far east as Japan, and they can also be found throughout much of North America.

Mallard are one of the few species of birds to have been successfully domesticated: the mallard is the ancestor of such breeds as the Aylesbury, Khaki Campbell, Indian Runner, Silver Appleyard and Rouen.

The mallard’s success is due to its adaptability, for it is a much at home on a town pond as it is on a Highland loch.

Both sexes become completely flightless during the summer moult.

Though generally regarded as the classic surface-feeding duck, up-ending in shallow water, they will dive for their food too if they need to. Notes Living With Birds.

Dabbling into drawing things, unfortunately this one looks rough in pen

I recently had the chance to use Canon's 50mm F1.4 for a few hours. I've never used anything like it before and needless to say, I fell in love. I've also been practicing how to pose people's faces, bringing out their natural beauty. (Thank you, Peter Hurly.)

Dabbled in astrophotography last night. Didn't plan on taking this portrait, on account of having to hold still for 25 seconds, but i tried it anyways and i think it turned out okay. Night time is my favorite part of day. I never grow tried of looking up and seeing infinite possibilities.

Grey Teal (Anas gracilis) is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Australia and New Zealand. Grey Teal can be identified due to the presence of a crimson coloured iris in its eyes. This crimson colour is relatively more prominent in adult males. It is a mottled brown duck with white and green flashes on its wings. The male and female Grey Teal share the same colouration, in contrast to the related Chestnut Teal, whose male and female are strikingly different. Grey Teal has almost identical colouration to the female chestnut teal and the grey can only be distinguished by its lighter coloured neck and paler face. Juveniles are paler than adults, especially on the head. However, they can be identified by a dull brown eye until matured. The bill of Grey teal is a blue-grey colour with dark lining around the edges. Feet are a similar colour to that of the bill being grey. The head of a Grey Teal can be described as plain/slightly streaked, with a dark crown and cream coloured chin/throat and cheeks. The eggs of Grey Teal are a creamy white colour and are not distinctly speckled. An average egg is 49.3 mm in length and 35.6 mm in width. Grey Teal nests near its favoured freshwater lakes and marshes, usually on the ground, but also in tree holes or rabbit burrows. This is a vocal duck, especially at night. The male gives a soft preep, and the female has a loud quack. Grey Teal is a gregarious species. In Australia it is nomadic, rapidly colonising suitable habitat following rain. In 1957, large numbers fled Australia, moving to New Zealand to escape drought. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Sunda teal, as Anas gibberifrons gracilis. Widespread throughout its large range, Grey Teal is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. S20N_266