Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAnseriformes
- FamilyAnatidae (Anàtids)
- GenusAnas (Mallards, Pintails, and Allies)
- SpeciesAnas platyrhynchos (Mallard)
The mallard () or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. Belonging to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae, mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. Males (drakes) have green heads, while the females (ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or 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. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Mallard sighting in Table Mountain National Park, based on 83 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Table Mountain National Park
Yellow-billed Duck
Anas undulata
African Black Duck
Anas sparsa
Cape Teal
Anas capensis
Red-billed Teal
Anas erythrorhyncha
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiaca
Cape Shoveler
Spatula smithii
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschata
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensis
Black Swan
Cygnus atratus
Comb Duck
Sarkidiornis melanotos
Southern Pochard
Netta erythrophthalma
Maccoa Duck
Oxyura maccoa
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Mallard in Table Mountain National Park?
About 2% of wildlife watchers report a Mallard sighting in Table Mountain National Park, based on 83 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Mallard in Table Mountain National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Mallard in Table Mountain National Park in our monthly data.