Sounds of the Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Shortcut: k-QUACK-Quack-quack-quack
Song: The Mallard's typical quacking is given only by the female; it is often heard during the nesting season. When courted by males in the fall, females respond with loud quacks that decrease in volume and pitch: k-QUACK-Quack-quack-quack. Courting females also make a froglike cackle.
Call: The common call of the male is a soft, nasal rhaeb-rhaeb. Males also make grunting whistles during courtship.
Length: 0:36
Bird song and call descriptions copyright 1998 by NatureSound Studio, from the book Common Birds and Their Songs (Lang Elliott, 1998: Houghton Mifflin Company). Contact: Nature Sound Studio. Photographs copyright 2009 by Brian Small and Robert Royse. All rights reserved.





