Wildlife Garden DecoBird Female Mallard 25.4 cm hand-carved & hand-painted

At a glance

• large hand-carved and hand-painted mallard – female
• Model: Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
• characteristic brown speckled plumage pattern
• orange beak as a typical feature of the female
• lifelike representation in near life-size
• hand-painted with water-based paint
• Dimensions: 25.4 × 10.0 × 8.7 cm
• Weight: approx. 334 g
• for indoor use
• includes a booklet with information about the bird species

Product details

• Brand: Wildlife Garden
• Series: DecoBird
• Bird species: Mallard – female
• Scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos
• Item number: WG468
• EAN: 7350054763714
• Material: hand-carved wood
• Paint: water-based paint
• Length: 25.4 cm
• Width: 10.0 cm
• Height: 8.7 cm
• Weight: approx. 334 g
• Use: indoor
• Packaging: closed cardboard box
• Other: booklet with information about the bird species

The more subtle half of the mallard pair

With the mallard drake, identification is easy: green head, white neck ring, strong contrasts. The female looks completely different.

Her plumage consists predominantly of finely graduated brown, beige, and darker natural tones. This restrained pattern has an important purpose: it offers the female significantly better camouflage while brooding.

Wildlife Garden therefore did not use flashy colors for the female DecoBird, but rather a multitude of small patterns and color gradations.

Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos

Mallards are among the most well-known waterfowl of all. You encounter them on lakes, ponds, and rivers as well as on bodies of water in the middle of our cities.

They are dabbling ducks. When foraging, they usually do not submerge completely, but rather "tip up": the front of the body disappears below the water surface while the rear end sticks out of the water.

Their natural diet consists of both plant matter and small animals living in the water.

Why is the female brown?

The different coloration of male and female is particularly pronounced in the mallard.

While the drake stands out with his iridescent green head, the female must attract as little attention as possible during nesting. Her brown speckled plumage blends much better with dry grasses, soil, and the vegetation around the nesting site.

The supposedly inconspicuous brown is therefore not a boring color variant, but a very effective camouflage.

The orange beak helps with differentiation

Wildlife Garden points out another feature: the female's beak shows significantly stronger orange tones than the drake's.

Young birds also strongly resemble adult females at first. A common feature of both sexes is the bright blue speculum, which becomes particularly visible when the duck spreads its wings.

The female handles the nest building

In the case of the mallard, the female is responsible for nest building. The nesting site is often well-protected on the ground near water.

However, mallards are surprisingly flexible when choosing their nesting site. The decisive factor is primarily that the female and later the ducklings can reach suitable bodies of water.

25.4 cm long and 334 grams heavy

At 25.4 × 10.0 × 8.7 cm, the mallard female is also one of the large DecoBirds. The figure weighs around 334 g.

The weight, in particular, is important information when purchasing online. At over 300 g, you are not holding a small, light bird figure, but a significantly more substantial wooden figure.

The low, elongated shape also clearly distinguishes the mallard from the upright-standing songbirds of the series.

Hand-carved and painted

Wildlife Garden carves the mallard female by hand from wood and then paints the figure by hand with water-based paints.

For this bird, the challenge lies less in bold colors than in the fine plumage pattern. Numerous brown and natural tones must work together to create the speckled camouflage typical of the female.

Due to the manual manufacturing and the natural material, slight differences in wood structure, carving, and painting may occur. They are part of the individual character of each figure.

Drake and female as a pair

The two mallards become particularly interesting when you look at them side by side. Although they belong to the same bird species, at first glance they could hardly look more different.

The drake immediately draws the eye with his iridescent green head. The female appears much calmer with her finely graduated brown pattern.

It is precisely this difference that makes both DecoBirds particularly appealing as a pair.

For indoor use

According to the current direction of the DecoBird series, the hand-carved mallard is intended as a decorative figure for indoor use.

At 25.4 cm long, it requires a bit more space than the small songbirds and looks particularly good on a sideboard, a chest of drawers, or a larger shelf.

With information about the mallard

The DecoBird includes a booklet with information about the mallard. The figure is delivered in a closed cardboard box.

In doing so, Wildlife Garden combines the artisanal representation with information about the real bird and its way of life in this model as well.

My assessment

Next to the colorful drake, one might initially take the female for the less spectacular mallard. But I find the opposite to be interesting: here, the painting must function much more through fine patterns and different natural tones.

One should also not underestimate the size. 25.4 cm in length and 334 g make the female one of the more substantial DecoBirds.

Of course, I like the combination of female and drake best. Only side by side does it become really clear how differently nature has designed two birds of the same species. And those who want to make the mallard family complete can add the matching duckling.