States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Bird

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

A winter visitor to Florida, found in 52 of 67 counties and 15 habitats.

Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
52 of 67 counties
Habitats
15

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
52 of 67 counties
Habitats
15
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 15

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 15

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
WinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)George Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904)In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
SummerWinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FloridaOn the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

The Great Florida Marsh
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum)Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"
SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreMartin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Winter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

WinterOnly within 250 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland
Other habitats in its models (53)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.

In Florida 3

  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
Elsewhere in the South (19)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter, only within 250 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter, only within 250 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Summer.
Northeast (2)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Midwest (2)
  • Western Great Plains Open Freshwater Depression Wetland Summer.
  • Western Great Plains Saline Depression Wetland Summer.
Land cover and other classes (27)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

  • Winter: does not nest here, in 52 of 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 203

Plant genera in its diet records (24)
  • Potamogeton Seeds and leaves. 9 diet records. 10 native plants in Florida
  • Carex Seeds. 5 diet records. 77 native plants in Florida
  • Lemna 3 diet records. 5 native plants in Florida
  • Ceratophyllum Fruit and seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Echinochloa Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Myriophyllum Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Polygonum Seeds. 2 diet records. 10 native plants in Florida
  • Sagittaria Seeds and roots. 2 diet records. 12 native plants in Florida
  • Schoenoplectus Seeds. 2 diet records. 7 native plants in Florida
  • Scirpus Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Florida
  • Sparganium Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Stuckenia Seeds and roots. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Beckmannia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Bidens Seeds. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Florida
  • Brasenia Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Chara 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Hippuris Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Najas Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Florida
  • Persicaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 11 native plants in Florida
  • Quercus Seeds. 1 diet record. 43 native plants in Florida
  • Scolochloa Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Triticum 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Zannichellia Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Zizania Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Florida

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 75

Plants 286

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Florida

Swamps

Birds 93

Plants 353

All of swamps in Florida

Depression ponds and limesinks

Birds 67

Plants 124

All of depression ponds and limesinks in Florida

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources