Todd Telander - Birds of Florida

Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese)

Size: 23

Season: Year-round resident

Habitat: Virtually any water environment, parks, urban areas

The ubiquitous Mallard is the most abundant duck in the northern hemisphere. It is a classic dabbling duck, plunging its head into the water with its tail up, searching for aquatic plants, animals, and snails, although it will also eat worms, seeds, insects, and even mice. Noisy and quacking, it is a heavy but strong flier. The male has a dark head with green or blue iridescence, a white neck ring, and a large yellow bill. The underparts are pale with a chestnut-brown breast. The female is plain brownish with buffy, scalloped markings. It also has a dark eye line and orangey bill with a dark center. The speculum is blue on both sexes, and the tail coverts often curl upward. Mallards form huge floating flocks called rafts. To achieve flight, a Mallard lifts straight into the air without running. The illustration shows a breeding male, below, and a female, above.

Mottled Duck,Anas fulvigula

Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese)

Size: 22

Season: Year-round in Florida

Habitat: Most aquatic areas, coastal marshes

A very close relative of the Mallard, the Mottled Duck is a common dabbling duck with similar foraging habits and quacking voice. In appearance, both sexes are similar to the female Mallard only darker and slightly larger. It is buffy brown overall with a lighter head and neck, and with no white on the tail. The male has a bright yellow bill; that of the female is darker. The greenish spec-ulum is seen primarily in flight. Some consider the Mottled Duck to be a subspecies of the Mallard. The illustration shows an adult male.

Gadwall,Anas strepera

Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese)

Size: 20.5

Season: Winter

Habitat: Shallow lakes, marshes

The Gadwall is a buoyant, plain-colored, dabbling duck with a steep forehead and a somewhat angular head. The breeding male is grayish overall, with very fine variegation and barring. The rump and undertail coverts are black, the scapulars are light orange-brown, the tertials are gray, and the head is lighter below the eye and darker above. Females and nonbreeding males are mottled brownish, with few distinguishing markings. In flight there is a distinctive white speculum that is most prominent in males. Gadwalls dabble or dive for a variety of aquatic plants and invertebrates, and often gather in large flocks away from the shore. The breeding female (top) and breeding male (bottom) are illustrated.

Green-winged Teal,Anas crecca

Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese)

Size: 14

Season: Winter

Habitat: Marshes, ponds

The Green-winged Teal is a cute, very small, active duck with a small, thin bill. The breeding male is silvery gray, with a dotted tawny breast patch, a pale yellow hip patch, and a distinct vertical white bar on its side. The head is rusty brown, with an iri-descent green patch around and behind the eye. Females and nonbreeding males are mottled brown with a dark eye line and white belly. Green-winged Teals dabble in the shallows for plant material and small invertebrates. They are quick and agile in flight, and sport a bright green speculum. They form very large winter flocks. The breeding female (top) and breeding male (bottom) are illustrated.