“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.”
Proverbial wisdom aside, many different species fall under the label of “duck.” And given that we’re in the midst of nesting season, it’s useful to know some differences between ducks common to our region, including the mallard and the wood duck.
If you have a duck or duckling on your hands, use these tips to identify a mallard from a wood duck:
Babies are the hardest to tell apart! The Illinois Raptor Center has pictures comparing mallard and wood ducklings. Both have a black stripe running into their eye. However, if you look closely, the mallard’s stripe continues on the other side of the eye (all the way to the bill), while the wood duckling’s stripe ends at the outside of the eye.
As they mature, the differences between mallards and wood ducks become more apparent. The All About Birds website, created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has great information on both mallards and wood ducks, including pictures, habitat information, and recordings of their quacks and calls.
In both species, males are the more colorful sex. Male wood ducks have a black, white, and green head, with red eyes, an orange bill, a reddish breast, and light brown sides. Male mallards have an emerald green head, a white neck ring, brown breast, and white wings with a blue tip.
Female wood ducks are mostly gray-brown, with blue and purple markings and a white ring around the eye.
If you spot an adult duck sitting in a single spot for hours at a time, it’s important to leave her alone. March through May, females are nesting, waiting for their eggs to hatch.
If you find baby ducklings that have seemingly been abandoned, explore the immediate area and see if the family is nearby. If so, move the duckling(s) as close to the rest of the family as possible as watch to see if they are accepted. If you know that the mother duck is dead, or if the babies are rejected or still unclaimed by their mother at nightfall, you can call the Center (if you’re located in Missouri) at (636) 394-1880 for further instructions.
Proverbial wisdom aside, many different species fall under the label of “duck.” And given that we’re in the midst of nesting season, it’s useful to know some differences between ducks common to our region, including the mallard and the wood duck.
If you have a duck or duckling on your hands, use these tips to identify a mallard from a wood duck:
Babies are the hardest to tell apart! The Illinois Raptor Center has pictures comparing mallard and wood ducklings. Both have a black stripe running into their eye. However, if you look closely, the mallard’s stripe continues on the other side of the eye (all the way to the bill), while the wood duckling’s stripe ends at the outside of the eye.
As they mature, the differences between mallards and wood ducks become more apparent. The All About Birds website, created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has great information on both mallards and wood ducks, including pictures, habitat information, and recordings of their quacks and calls.
In both species, males are the more colorful sex. Male wood ducks have a black, white, and green head, with red eyes, an orange bill, a reddish breast, and light brown sides. Male mallards have an emerald green head, a white neck ring, brown breast, and white wings with a blue tip.
Female wood ducks are mostly gray-brown, with blue and purple markings and a white ring around the eye.
If you spot an adult duck sitting in a single spot for hours at a time, it’s important to leave her alone. March through May, females are nesting, waiting for their eggs to hatch.
If you find baby ducklings that have seemingly been abandoned, explore the immediate area and see if the family is nearby. If so, move the duckling(s) as close to the rest of the family as possible as watch to see if they are accepted. If you know that the mother duck is dead, or if the babies are rejected or still unclaimed by their mother at nightfall, you can call the Center (if you’re located in Missouri) at (636) 394-1880 for further instructions.
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