birdsoup

Next time you are near a pond, look for a male Mallard. See any? You’ll see a lot of females and young. But males may not be obvious at first glance.

Normally they are hard to miss. With it’s bright, iridescent green head, a male Mallard usually doesn’t present an ID problem. Except at this time of year.

In mid to late summer, Mallards undergo a complete molt, losing all their old feathers and replacing them with new ones. During this molt they go into what is known as Eclipse plumage. The males lose their bright green coloring and adopt a duller, female-like plumage and also lose their flight feathers and so they cannot fly. Flightless they are vulnerable to predators and spend much of their time on island or in the water where they are safer. This is a male in eclipse plumage.

After the eclipse plumage period, which lasts a month or more, their flight feathers and bright green head feathers return.

But at this time of year, all the ducks in the pond look like females (or maybe some sort of hybrid) See for yourself. Go to a local pond and try to find a male Mallard.