The male mallard duck has a greyish body, chestnut coloured breast and a green head with white neck rings. The inner feathers of the wings are a metallic purplish-blue, bordered in the front and back with white. The female mallard is a mottled brown with a white tail and the feathers of the inner wing are also purplish-blue. The bill is a mottled orange and brown.
Very common in the Upper Peninsula. The mallard duck breeds in the north and winters in the south, along coasts. They inhabit marshes, ponds and marshy lakes.
In midwinter mallards form pairs and migrate northward together heading for the female's place of origin. There they will build a down-lined nest to place the 8-10 light olive-green eggs. The male duck stays until incubation is well underway, then leaves to join a flock of other males. They often interbreed with domestic ducks, producing a variety of odd-looking hybrids. They very easily become tame.