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The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a bird found in United States, Canada, Sweden, United Kingdom and Netherlands. Ponds, lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, seeds and nuts and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Mallard lives

Ponds, lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs40%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants20%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
• 🐟 Fish10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Mallard

Recorded by Mark Plummer (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC982820. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Mallard

Where does the Mallard live?

The Mallard lives in United States, Canada, Sweden, United Kingdom and Netherlands. Ponds, lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere.

What does the Mallard eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fish (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Mallard endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• Willow tit
• Black woodpecker
• Spotted flycatcher
• Eurasian treecreeper
• Lesser whitethroat
• Common nightingale

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.