Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Other Pics: Female Mallard

Other Names

  Greenhead, Common Mallard, Green-headed Mallard, Northern Mallard   Canard colvert, Canard malard   Stockente   Anade Azulón, Azulón   Gräsand   Wilde eend   Germano reale

World: Palearctic and Nearctic wintering along the Nile to Sudan and Ethiopia. Introduced to SE Australia and New Zealand.

Kenya: There are records of Mallard in Kenya some of which are almost certainly vagrants from the Palearctic migration. However it is likely that most of the sightings are of feral specimens.

Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos is one of 7 subspecies of Mallard, the other 6 are all found in the Americas. There is, however, much debate about whether some of these subspecies should be considered species in their own right. Mallards found in Kenya are of the subspecies platyrhynchos and there is some doubt as to the status of the bird in this country. Since Palearctic birds do overwinter in Ethiopia and Sudan it is possible that vagrants will appear from time to time. However Mallards were popular with colonial settlers who brought specimens from Europe for their farms and Zimmerman et al believe most of the sightings are feral.