The Mallard Duck is also known as a "puddle duck". Mallards grow up to 28 inches, and the male and female have very different plumage. The male has a colorful iridescent green head with a yellow beak, a white collar, black rear, and white tail. The female is overall mottled brown and has an orange beak. Only the female mallard quacks; both male and female make other calls. Their diet consists mostly of aquatic vegetation and the male defends a feeding area of open water.

Mallards usually nest in reeds, cattails or on the ground very close to water. The average clutch of eggs is seven to fourteen, laid one a day and taking about 3½ weeks to hatch. The eggs are incubated solely by the female. Only one brood of young is produced each year.

Mallards are found all over North America and even in India, but like most migratory birds, they move south when the weather gets colder. Mallards are commonly known for their dabbing and upending in shallow water to find food, as opposed to birds that dive down into the water to get their meals.