Mottled Duck

At a glance

Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) is an IUCN Least Concern birds present across the CatchRules coverage area but without species-specific bag, size, or season rules tracked in our regulatory dataset.

Confirmed by 7,915 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Texas, Florida, and Louisiana the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• One of the few non-migratory dabbling ducks in North America, residing year-round in Gulf Coast marshes.
• Both males and females share similar mottled brown plumage—there is no colorful breeding male as in mallards.
• Found only in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, making it one of North America's most range-restricted ducks.
• Hybridization with introduced mallards is a growing conservation threat to this species.
• Nests in dense marsh grasses, often more than 100 yards from open water.

Where Mottled Duck are seen

• Texas4,283 iNat obs
• Florida3,136 iNat obs
• Louisiana165 iNat obs
• South Carolina113 iNat obs
• Mississippi36 iNat obs
• Georgia34 iNat obs

Background

The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) or mottled mallard is a medium-sized dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female mallard and the American black duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of the former, but this is inappropriate (see systematics).

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Mottled Duck article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.