Ducks do not begin to incubate until the last or next to last egg in the clutch is laid. Therefore, all the young hatch at about the same time. The larger, more colorful male mallard has a metallic green head, yellow beak and a black curled tail. The female is an overall mottled brown with bright blue wing bar.
Mallards congregate in large flocks that sometimes number in the hundreds.
The flock will feed in exposed water during the day and fly to sheltered resting areas for the night. If food is available, many may overwinter on communal summer feeding grounds but most will migrate south to warmer climates. Males generally are polygamous, aggressive suitors that often gang-up on receptive females during the breeding season. Mallards are very vocal ducks, especially when feeding. The females produce the familiar quacking sound.