Mallard Duck - Wildlife of Wilderness

by Don Balke

Title

Mallard Duck - Wildlife of Wilderness

Artist

Don Balke

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Cold Press Illustration Board

Description

Best known of all ducks, the Mallard is the most abundant and heavily hunted waterfowl in North America and has provided an important source of food for thousands of years. The Mallard remains on Canada's northern lakes until the stiff, freezing winds of November arrive. Mallards can live with cold, but they must have open water. Hunters await these colorful birds on the marshes of Manitoba and along the lakeshores of Minnesota. Wintering Mallards concentrate most heavily along the Gulf Coast and in the Mississippi Valley. By then the males have shed their drab summer garb, and their stunning new dress of rich chestnut and green contrasts sharply with the mottled brown dress of females. At the thaw, the Mallards push north with steady wingbeats that rarely reach below the level of their bodies. Soon, groups of drakes pursue single ducks in courtship. The female usually stops the chase by turning to touch the favored suitor with her bill. Then the couple flies off. She selects the nesting territory; he guards it against intruding pairs. The duck usually builds her nest of grass and down among concealing reeds, but she may choose a brush pile or an old hawk's nest in a tree. In earlier times, nesting Mallards were uncommon in eastern North America where their close relatives, the black ducks, held sway. But Mallards breed well in captivity, and are now enjoyed by people of all ages in almost every city park.

Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.

Artwork Copyright © 1978 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB05050

Uploaded

July 19th, 2022

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