Mallard Anas platyrhynchos (domestic forms)

Mallards have been domesticated since ancient times but although there are many different domestic breeds, all of these are the same species (the only other duck that has been fully domesticated is the Muscovy Duck). Consequently they intrebreed among themselves and with wild Mallards very readily. Many domestic Mallards are allowed to escape, deliberately released or just kept in situations where they are free to come and go, and where wild Mallards are free to join (and breed with) them. As a result, Mallard with some domestic ancestry can be found almost anywhere that Mallards can be found.

When dealing with Mallards in wild situations it does not usually make sense to attempt to attribute them to any of the named breeds of domestic Mallard. Birds may largely resemble a named breed, but without knowledge of its pedigree the only sure way of telling if it really does conform to a breed is to mate it with another of the same breed and see if all the offspring also resemble this breed. Therefore if you encounter a bird in the wild the best you can say is that it resembles a specific breed, but nine times out of ten (or more) it will not fully conform to any named breed.

Note that some domestic duck "names" refer to specific recognised breeds (examples include Aylesbury, Bali, Campbell, Cayuga, Crested, Magpie, Orpington, Pekin, Rouen, Rouen Clair, Saxony, Silver Appleyard, among others.) and some refer to categories of breeds (e.g. Indian Runner, Bantam, Call). There are organisations (such as the British Waterfowl Association) that hold standards defining specific breeds but in my experience many duck-owners use names and terms that do not appear in the British Waterfowl Association's "British Waterfowl Standards".

Domestic Mallards resembling wild Mallards are known in the trade as "Mallards". As a result, some aviculturalists object to any other domestic Mallard being called a Mallard, but ultimately they are all biologically descended from Mallards and are all the same species, so they are all Mallards. Crosses between different breeds of Mallard, or between domestic breeds of Mallards and wild Mallards, are often referred to as hybrids but I advise against this use of the word for such crosses. Biologically, crosses between different forms of Mallard are very different to crosses between different species of duck (e.g. Mallard x Northern Pintail hybrids). It is therefore better to reserve the word "hybrid" for birds that are crosses between more than one species of duck, and not use if for birds that are merely crosses between different domestic or non-domestic forms of the same species.

domestic variants of Mallard, Graffham Water (Cambridgeshire, UK), 24th September 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Porthloo duckpond (Scilly, UK), 3rd October 2007

domestic variant of Mallard, Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th January 2016

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 10th November 2007

domestic variant of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 21st December 2006

domestic variants of Mallard, Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 30th January 2010

domestic variant of Mallard, Caerlaverock (Dumfries & Galloway, UK), 29th December 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Cleethorpe (Lincolnshire, UK), 7th April 2012

domestic variants of Mallard, Cockshoot (Norfolk, UK), 5th February 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Felbrigg Lake (Norfolk, UK), 24th July 2010

domestic variants of Mallard, Helston boating lake (Cornwall, UK), 21st November 2013

domestic variant of Mallard, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 8th November 2014

domestic variants of Mallard, Lynford (Norfolk, UK), 29th November 2014

domestic variants of Mallard, Morston (Norfolk, UK), 15th October 2016

domestic variants of Mallard, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 5th February 2022

domestic variant of Mallard, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014

domestic variants of Mallard (with Moorhen), Polgigga (Cornwall, UK), 18th November 2013

domestic variant of Mallard, Great Ryburgh (Norfolk, UK), 20th April 2017

domestic variant of Mallard, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015

domestic variant of Mallard, Salhouse Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th December 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 12th March 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 22nd August 2017

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 3rd December 2016

domestic variants of Mallard, Snettisham (Norfolk, UK), 31st March 2009

domestic variants of Mallard, Snettisham (Norfolk, UK), 8th December 2012

According to a sign, these captive domestic Mallards were Miniature Silver Appleyards.

captive domestic variant of Mallards, Martin Mere (Lancashire, UK), 26th December 2014

I was informed by its owner that this captive bird was a Cayuga.

captive domestic variant of Mallard, private collection at Wereham (Norfolk, UK), 5th May 2017

domestic variants of Mallard, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 11th February 2012

domestic variants of Mallard, Polgigga (Cornwall, UK), 17th November 2014

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 30th April 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Nun's Bridge, Thetford (Norfolk, UK), 19th November 2016

domestic variants of Mallard, Malthouse Broad (Norfolk, UK), 21st February 2015

domestic variant of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 10th January 2008

domestic variants of Mallard, Whitlingham (Norfolk, UK), 1st July 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 5th February 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 21st May 2004

domestic variant of Mallard, Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 17th December 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Horsey (Norfolk, UK), 17th December 2011

captive domestic variant of Mallard, Martin Mere (Lancashire, UK), 28th December 2003

domestic variants of Mallard, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 18th March 2019

domestic variants of Mallard, Porthloo duckpond (Scilly, UK), 5th October 2007

domestic variant of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 17th November 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, Pontefract Park (West Yorkshire, UK), 9th February 2023

domestic variants of Mallard, Porthloo duckpond (Scilly, UK), 11th August 2012

domestic variant of Mallard, Whitlingham (Norfolk, UK), 19th June 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Whitlingham (Norfolk, UK), 7th February 2010

domestic variants of Mallard, Amner (Norfolk, UK), 25th January 2013

domestic variant of Mallard, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 20th March 2019

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 21st May 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 21st May 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 6th February 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, Martham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 26th December 2009

domestic variant of Mallard, Chew Valley Lake (Bath & NE Somerset, UK), 1st October 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 19th March 2009

domestic variant of Mallard, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 17th March 2004

domestic variant of Mallard, Coxford (Norfolk, UK), 8th April 2009

domestic variant of Mallard, Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 22nd April 2017

domestic variant of Mallard, Great Ryburgh (Norfolk, UK), 7th May 2017

domestic variant of Mallard (with wild-type Mallards), Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 27th January 2008

domestic variant of Mallard, Welney (Norfolk, UK), 10th January 2015

domestic variant of Mallard, Welney (Norfolk, UK), 9th April 2011

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 12th June 2008

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 25th July 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 27th September 2007

domestic variant of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 28th February 2004

domestic variant of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 28th September 2012

domestic variant of Mallard, Bittering (Norfolk, UK), 20th April 2014

domestic variant of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 2nd July 2007

domestic variant of Mallard, Flixton (Norfolk, UK), 27th August 2005

domestic variants of Mallard, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 16th February 2008

domestic variant of Mallard, Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 8th March 2008

domestic variant of Mallard, Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 9th August 2008

domestic variants of Mallard, South Creake (Norfolk, UK), 28th June 2007

domestic variants of Mallard, Porthloo duckpond (Norfolk, UK), 6th August 2010

domestic variant of Mallard, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014

domestic variant of Mallard, Talkin Tarn (Cumbria, UK), 27th February 2012

domestic variant of Mallard, Burnham Norton (Norfolk, UK), 29th April 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Bittering (Norfolk, UK), 8th October 2004

domestic variant of Mallard, Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 29th March 2008

domestic variants of Mallard, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 4th February 2012

domestic variant of Mallard, Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2008

captive domestic variants of Mallard, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 12th March 2011

domestic variant of Mallard, Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 14th October 2007

domestic variant of Mallard (with wild-type Mallard in last photo), Swanton Morley fishing lakes (Norfolk, UK), 27th December 2008

domestic variants of Mallard (with wild-type Mallards), Broome (Norfolk, UK), 11th February 2012