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Story: Game birds

Female mallard and ducklings

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Female mallard and ducklings

Mallards are easily the most common game bird and dominate duck hunters’ bags. The female has brown colouring, while the male has a glossy green head, a white neck ring and rusty brown chest during breeding. Mallards hybridise with the native grey duck.

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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: DSCF0148.jpg

by Peter E. Smith

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How to cite this page

Neil Deans, Game birds – Management, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16724/female-mallard-and-ducklings (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Neil Deans, published 30 October 2009, updated 20 April 2025.