What is a duck?
Ducks is a common name for several species of waterbird from the family Anatidae. While waterbirds in general include swans, geese, coots, moorhens, we refer to ‘ducks’ as being the members of the family with shorter necks and generally dabbling and diving habits. They have wide bills and live on or around fresh water and costal seas.
Ducks and humans have a long history together, having been domesticated long ago, they have been forged into our cultural heritage, as much as they are appreciated for their economic value. When you walk in a park, while most birds flee by flying away, ducks will approach humans, expectant of treats.
Much like garden birds, ducks are often misidentified or muddled with other species of waterbird such as cormorants, grebes, coots, and egrets.
Did you know?
The common name ‘duck’ is said to pre-date the verb ‘to duck’ (bend down), the verb is believed to have been adopted due to the ducks feeding behaviour of dipping their heads while dabbling or diving.
What do ducks look like?
Ducks come in many colours and sizes, but they all have long bodies and waterproof feathers. They have broad beaks which contain comb like structures that allow them to pick up food or filter food using the combs. They have webbed feet, on short legs towards the back of their bodies giving them their waddling gait. Males and females are often dimorphic, meaning they can look very different. Typically, the males are colourful, while the females are drab.
Below you'll find photos and descriptions of all the most common species of ducks you’re likely to see here in the UK.
Do ducks eat fish?
Some species of ducks do eat fish. They tend to catch and eat small immature fish called ‘fry’.
What can you feed ducks?
Ducks are omnivores means they have a wide diet including plants and animals. The majority regularly eat aquatic plants, along with invertebrates and molluscs. Some species will also eat roots and grasses, while others eat seeds and grains and even small fish and amphibians. Some good foods you can take from home to feed the ducks include:
Ducks will eat nearly all vegetables that we humans eat. Sweetcorn, lettuce, peas, carrots, cabbage and broccoli, are popular.
Ducks also eat fruit including apples, pears, bananas, melons and plums, but because ducks can’t chew, they will need chopping up into bite sized pieces.
Many also eat seeds, with bird seed mixes being popular, along with grains such as wheat and oats.
What to feed ducks at the park
The best food to feed ducks at the park is a proprietary duck food such as Ark Duck & Swan Floating Food, as these contain all the nutrients ducks, and their relatives need to stay healthy. Fruit and vegetables also make good supplementary feeds, but foods such as bread, cheese (ducks are lactose intolerant) or citrus fruit should be avoided because they are not nutritionally suitable for ducks.
Did you know
‘Alright my Duck’ – is slang for the original greeting of ‘Hello my Duke’ being an informal sign of respect between peers, not a reference of being female.
Taking bread and food scraps to feed to the ducks at the park has been a parent’s favourite pastime, and a rite of passage for our children for generations. Feeding ducks is probably the first experience most children have with getting close to birds and nature. Whether living rurally or within an inner city, ducks will always be present wherever there is water and due to this, ducks are the most widely recognised of all our species of birds.
Mallard
Our most common duck is the mallard, and it can be seen throughout the UK, including in city centres. It is resident all year round and the males have distinctive green heads, with a flash of blue in the wings. The females are mottled brown and outside of the breeding season the males lose most of their colours to resemble the females. The male has a yellow bill, while the females is orange. Both sexes have bright yellow bills.
Estimated population is between 300,000 - 700,000, with numbers peaking with migrants during winter months.
Diet includes Seeds, acorns, berries, insects, aquatic invertebrates and plants.
Teal
Teal are small ducks with the males displaying a chestnut head with wide green eye stripe. Their bodies have a spotted chest and grey flanks. The females are mottled brown. Both sexes have dark bills. They prefer remote moors and quiet inland waters for breeding but head south across the UK during winter.
Estimated population between 5,000 – 200,000, with low numbers in summer breeding, but increasing with migrant birds during winter.
Diet consists of aquatic invertebrates, vegetation and seeds.
Wigeon
Wigeon are medium sizes ducks with distinctive ‘fluffy’ round head. The male has a chestnut head and neck with a cream forehead, pinkish breast and grey body. The female shows the same patterning of the male but in duller shades of brown. Both sexes have a small, pale grey bill with a black tip.
Estimated population between 500 – 500,000. A rare breeding bird in the UK but numbers grow exponentially with incoming winter migrants.
Diet consists of aquatic plants, roots and grass.
Tufted Duck
A medium sizes duck that cannot be confused with any other. Their distinctive black and white birds with dazzling yellow eyes. Black head, breast and tail, with white sides, these ducks display a black crest on the back of their heads, hanging like a ponytail gives them their name. The female is dark brown and lacks the white sides and has a paler yellow eye.
Estimated population is between 50,000 – 150,000 peaking with winter migrants.
Diet consists of aquatic molluscs, invertebrates and some aquatic vegetation.
Gadwall
Slightly smaller than a mallard and at fist glance easy to confuse with a female mallard, the gadwall may at first appear drab. It’s brown plumage on closer inspection displays a find and intricate pattern of fine stripes and speckles. The female lacks the fine patterning of the male. The males bill is dark but the females bill has orange edges.
Estimates population between 3,000 – 30,000. With migrant numbers peaking during winter.
Diet consists of plant stems, leaves and seeds.
Shelduck
This is a large duck, much bigger than a mallard and both sexes are brightly coloured. They have a dark green head and neck (almost black), mainly white bodies with a broad chestnut band around their belly. Brown wing stripes and bright red bill.
Estimated population is between 20,000 – 50,000, peaking in winter.
Diet consists of aquatic snails, shellfish and invertebrates.
Mandarin
Was introduced to the UK from China but has now naturalised. The males are highly decorative with dramatic orange feathers on the side of their face, iridescent green, blue and purple head, chest and wing stripes. They have a white eye stripe and belly, and prominent orange feathers ‘sails’ on their back. The female is drab in comparison with grey head and mottled grey body. They both have red bills, with the males more vibrant than the females.
Estimated population is between 10,000 – 15,000 residents.
Diet consists of Vegetation, seeds, acorns, beechmast, snails and insects.
Pochard
Male pochard ducks are very distinctive boasting vivid reddy-brown head and neck, red eye, black breast and tail and delicately patterned pale grey body. The female has a greyish-brown colour with a dark eye. Both have a dark bill with white stripe, the males being much brighter than the females.
Estimated population is between 2,000 – 30,000 with numbers peaking in winter.
Diet consists of aquatic plants, seeds, snails, invertebrates and small fish.
Shoveler
As the name suggests the distinctive feature of shoveler ducks is their large, broad ‘shovel’ like bills, which they use to filter feed on the surface of the water. The males have dark green head and neck, white breast and vent, with orangey-brown sides. Females are plain mottled brown. Both have their distinctive bills, the male being black, while the females is pale brown.
Estimated population between 2,000 – 20,000, numbers peaking in the winter.
Diet consists of small insects and plant matter sifted from the water surface.
Goldeneye
Goldeneye ducks are medium sized but slightly smaller than a mallard. The male has a dark green, almost black head and back, with white cheek, breast and sides. The female is grey with a dark brown head. Both sexes have large heads and distinctive golden-yellow eyes giving the birds their name.
Estimated population between 400 – 20,000. In recent years there have been conservation efforts encouraging these birds to breed in the UK.
Diet consists of aquatic muscles, snails, invertebrates, small fish and some plants.
Pintail
Slightly larger than a mallard, with longer elegant necks. Their distinguishing feature is their erect long-pointed tail feathers. The male pintail has a chestnut-coloured head, white breath and intricately patterned grey-brown body. Females are mottled brown with shorter pointed tails.
Estimated population is between 50 – 20,000, peaking in winter with migrant birds.
Diet consists of plants and invertebrates gathered by dabbling on the water surface.
Plain brown ducks
Most ducks are sexually dimorphic meaning the females in contrast to the males are generally quite drab. Females often lack the fancy colours and bold features of males, appearing in shades of brown, often mottled. During the moult many male ducks will lose their summer colours, taking on a brown appearance, looking a lot like the females. During late spring as ducklings grow their first true feathers, they also tend to be brownish ‘washed out’ versions of their parents.
