A Cotswold Year - Charting the seasons in the South Cotswolds


Friday 29 June 2012

Mallard Drake

Many ducks are now entering eclipse plumage as the breeding season ends and are looking rather drab and scruffy. Male Mallards, like this one, start to moult and they become flightless until their primary feathers are replaced. They gather together in mixed groups and skulk around in the shadows attempting to keep safe from predators.  Their iridescent green head together with the rest of the body become mottled with brown and buff feathers often making them more difficult to identify.

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