Size: Length; 58cm. Weight; up to 1100g.

Habitat and distribution: Iceland and Europe, through China to Russia. Well vegetated swamps, marshes, lakes and rivers.

Breeding: Nest in a depression in a thick heap of grass and leaves, lined with down. Lay up to 10 eggs which are incubated for 25 days.

Diet: Seeds, roots, grasses, aquatic plants and invertebrates, also amphibians and small fish.

• Large numbers of this species spend the winter in Great Britain.
• It has a large global population estimated to be almost 4 million individuals.
• One of the 147 species of the Anatidae family, which are all ducks, geese and swans, more commonly known as wildfowl or waterfowl.
• Waterfowl bodies are adapted for a highly aquatic life, with webbed feet for swimming and a body shaped to improve buoyancy in the water and a thick covering of feathers for insulation. Different species specialise to fill different niches.  
• All species have an oil-gland which is used whilst preening to maintain waterproofing of their feathers; the oil-gland is highly developed in this family.
• All species have salt glands above each eye, which filter the blood and excrete excess salt.
• Wildfowl have had a long association with humans; the Mallard is the direct ancestor of almost all current breeds of domestic duck. Humans utilise this family for meat, eggs, and feathers and in some countries they are even kept around houses to control insect numbers.