Editing Mottled duck (section)

==Description==
[[File:Mottled Duck at Bailey Tract Pond.jpg|thumb|left|In Florida, U.S.]]

The adult mottled duck is {{convert|44|to(-)|61|cm|in|abbr=on}} long from head to tail. It has a dark body, lighter head and neck, orange legs and dark eyes. Both sexes have a shiny green-blue [[speculum feathers|speculum]] (wing patch), which is not bordered with white as with the [[mallard]]. Males and females are similar, but the male's bill is bright yellow, whereas the female's is deep to pale orange, occasionally lined with black splotches around the edges and near the base.

The plumage is darker than in female mallards, especially at the tail, and the bill is yellower. In flight, the lack of a white border to the speculum is a key difference. The [[American black duck]] is darker than most mottled ducks, and its wing-patch is more purple than blue. The behaviour and voice are the same as the mallard.

Mottled ducks feed by dabbling in shallow water, and grazing on land. They mainly eat plants, but also some mollusks and aquatic insects. The ducks are fairly common within their restricted range; they are resident all-year round and do not [[bird migration|migrate]]. Their breeding habitat is brackish and intermediate coastal marshes, but they will also use human developed habitat such as retaining ponds, water impoundments, and agricultural land during the breeding season.<ref name=":0" /> According to a review of their breeding behaviors, mottled duck nests may be found in "pastures, levees, dry cordgrass marsh, cutgrass marsh, spoil banks, and small islands."<ref name=":0" />

'''Measurements''':<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mottled Duck Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mottled_Duck/id|access-date=2020-09-26|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref>

* Male:
** '''Length''': {{convert|19.7|-|22.5|in|cm|abbr=on}}
** '''Weight''': {{convert|30.9|-|43.8|oz|g|abbr=on}}
** '''Wingspan''': {{convert|32.7|-|34.3|in|cm|abbr=on}}
* Female:
** '''Length''': {{convert|18.5|-|21.0|in|cm|abbr=on}}
** '''Weight''': {{convert|24.7|-|40.6|oz|g|abbr=on}}
** '''Wingspan''': {{convert|31.5|-|327.2|in|cm|abbr=on}}