Search results
Jan 7, 2022 · Learn the differences between male and female ducks based on tail feathers, color, voice and vent checking. Find out how to identify ducklings and different duck breeds.
- Barbara Bean-Mellinger
Learn about drakes, the fully-grown male ducks that have vibrant plumage, bright bills and feet, and soft raspy sounds. Discover how drakes differ from hens, how they behave during mating season, and what interesting facts they have.
The mallard (/ ˈ m æ l ɑːr d, ˈ m æ l ər d /) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa.
- Overview
- Appearance and Behavior
- Examining a Duck's Cloaca
Whether you’re spying them through binoculars or pairing them up to brood, sorting the males ducks (or “drakes”) from the females (often called “hens”) takes a little training. While every duck species has its own unique characteristics and traits, there are a few handy tricks that’ll give away most any drake. We’ll fill you in on how to distinguish male and female ducks based on their appearance, behavior, and sexual organs.
Distinguish between a male and female duck by checking the color of their feathers—male ducks are generally more colorful.
Take a close look at the duck’s bill and tail feathers. Female ducks often have speckled bills, and male ducks often have a curled tail feather.
Listen for a female duck's hard, loud quack and compare it to the male's much softer quack.
Observe the color of the duck's feathers.
During the mating season (March-July), male ducks generally have very bright coloration in their plumage to attract mates. After mating season, however, the male duck molts, sometimes losing his bright coloration in the process to more closely resemble a female.
are sexually dimorphic, which means the males and females look different from each other. The females are brown and relatively dowdy, whereas the males have a vivid purple sash on the wings and are iridescent colors.
has solid white to light gray plumage. His female counterpart has plumage that is grayish-brown.
has gray feathers with blue markings on the wings during mating season. The female's plumage is usually grayish-brown.
have similarly colored feathers, making it difficult to tell them apart by plumage alone.
Place the duck on their back on a table.
Cloacal examination, also known as “venting,” is a method of determining the sex of a duck when
It is used in ducks that are sexually monomorphic (having the same external features between males and females), but is also used in ducklings as young as 12 days old. First,
Position it on a table so that its breast is facing up and its legs are facing away from you. The tail should drape over the edge of the table so that it can be bent down to examine the cloaca.
If you do not have a solid surface on which you can lay the duck, kneel and lay the duck on your leg so that its tail can be bent over your knee.
Venting can be a difficult procedure to perform; if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, ask someone who is more experienced to do it for you. Venting is even more difficult in ducklings than adult ducks.
Learn about the mallard, the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth, with distinctive green head and yellow bill. See photos, habitat, behavior, reproduction, and threats to this common species.
20 to 26 inches. Weight: 2 to 3 pounds. The male mallard duck, called a drake, sports a glossy green head, a white ring around its neck and a rich, chestnut-brown breast. The mottled brown...
Gold Shaw Farm. 869K subscribers. Subscribed. 5.9K. 195K views 3 years ago VERMONT. People often wonder how to tell the difference between a male duck (drake) and a female duck (hen). In this...
- 8 min
- 196.7K
- Gold Shaw Farm
