Mexican Duck vs Mallard: What are the Differences?

Mexican ducks and mallards are species of dabbling ducks of the order Anseriformes and family Anatidae. Both species inhabit many habitats, including lakes, rivers, small ponds, marshes, and estuaries. They are fascinated by water bodies with aquatic vegetation. Although the Mexican ducks and mallards have striking similarities, the two species also differ considerably. Let’s take a closer look at these differences to help you discern between the two.

Comparing Mexican Duck vs Mallard

The Key Differences Between a Mexican Duck and a Mallard

The key differences between Mexican ducks and mallards are size, appearance, geographic distribution, nesting behavior, and conservation status.

Let’s examine all the differences in detail!

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Size

Compared to Mexican ducks, mallards are slightly heavier. Male Mexican ducks weigh approximately 1.9 to 2.7 pounds (849 to 1,243 g), while females weigh between 1.4 to 2.8 pounds (647 to 1,264 g). Both male and female mallards weigh about 1.5 to 3.5 pounds (0.7 to 1.6 kg).

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Appearance

Mexican ducks are primarily brown and have blue speculum feathers edged with white. Male Mexican ducks have brighter yellow bills than the females. On the contrary, mallards have gray bodies with iridescent-green heads and bright yellow bills. Mallards also have prominent purple-blue speculum feathers edged with white.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Geographic Distribution

Despite performing seasonal movements in limited local areas, Mexican ducks are not truly migratory birds. They are found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Flocks of Mexican ducks gather at permanent rivers and lakes during dry seasons and spread out into other areas within their localities during rainy seasons.

Mallards are migratory birds. They are widely distributed throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, North Africa, Eurasia, Uruguay, Chile, South Africa, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands, among other areas. Mallards are strongly migratory in the Northern Hemisphere and winter farther south.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Diet

Like mallards, Mexican ducks are omnivorous and opportunistic, generalist feeders. However, Mexican mallards prefer a diet primarily composed of animal foods, including terrestrial earthworms, insects like dragonflies and midge larvae, and invertebrates, such as freshwater shrimp and snails. 

As opposed to Mexican ducks, the majority of mallard’s diet is mainly composed of crustaceans, gastropods, insects, worms, and a wide range of seeds such as acorns. They usually feed by dabbling for plant material from roots and leaves. You may spot mallards weeding through riverbeds and tall grasses in search of food.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Movement in Water

Most often, Mexican ducks dive in reasonably shallow water, staying under for about 10 to 20 seconds feeding on life forms attached to rocks. Mallards seldom dive. Like many other ducks, mallards prefer using their beaks to sift through plant matter on the water surface.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Nesting Behavior

Mexican ducks form pairs a few months before the beginning of the nesting activities. Males stay with the females until the beginning of incubation. Nesting seasons vary based on several factors, including water conditions and local ruins. Female Mexican ducks are in charge of choosing a suitable nesting site, usually a few yards away from the nearest water. Nests are constructed primarily on tree cavities using plant materials lined with down. 

Mallards start forming pairs between October and November in the Northern hemisphere. The pairs last until the females begin laying eggs. Mallards construct their nests on the ground, usually surrounded by vegetation where the female’s speckled plumage effectively camouflages.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Egg Production

Female Mexican ducks lay between 4 to 9 whitish to gray to olive-buff eggs per clutch. Incubation takes about 28 days and is mainly done by females. Mexican ducklings leave the nest a day after hatching. Females guide the young ones to the water. Ducklings start flying at the age of about 52 to 60 days.

Female mallards lay between 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff eggs per clutch. Incubation takes approximately 27 to 28 days and can fly at about 50 to 60 days. Ducklings are capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.

Mexican Duck vs Mallard: Conservation Status

Although Mexican ducks are of the least concern, they are recently undergoing a slow decline due to habitat destruction and excessive hunting. In 1967, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mexican duck as endangered species but removed it from the list in 1978. 

Unlike Mexican ducks, mallards have been rated as species of least concern because their population has increased and not declined. Mallard’s population is so large that it is now considered an invasive species in some regions.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Pascal Halder/Shutterstock.com