Editing Mottled duck (section)

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Mottled duck
| image = MottledDuck Gam.jpg
| image_caption = A pair of mottled ducks (male on left, female on right) at Everglades National Park, Florida, US
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Anas fulvigula'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22680178A95209889 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680178A95209889.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G4
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100499/Anas_fulvigula |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=27 May 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Anas
| species = fulvigula
| authority = [[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1874
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = * ''A. f. fulvigula'' <br/><small>Florida mottled duck</small>
* ''A. f. maculosa'' {{Taxobox_authority | author = Sennett | date = 1889 }}<br/><small>Gulf Coast mottled duck</small>
| range_map = Anas fulvigula map.svg
}}

The '''mottled duck''' ('''''Anas fulvigula'''''){{refn|group=note|[[Etymology]]: ''Anas'', [[Ancient Greek]] for a duck. ''fulvigula'', "tan-throated", from [[Latin]] ''fulva'' "tan" + ''gula'', "throat".}} or '''mottled mallard''' is a medium-sized species of [[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 erroneously considered a [[subspecies]] of the former.

Along the Gulf of Mexico coast, the mottled duck is one of the most frequently banded waterfowl. This is due in part to the fact that it is mostly non-migratory.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Bonczek |first1=Elizabeth S. |last2=Ringelman |first2=Kevin M. |date=2021 |title=Breeding Ecology of Mottled Ducks: A Review |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=85 |issue=5 |pages=825–837 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.22048 |s2cid=234850664 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021JWMan..85..825B }}</ref> Approximately one out of every 20 mottled ducks is banded, making it an extremely prized and sought after bird among hunters.