[mou] Mallard feeding behavior

[Ronus J]

At a lake in northern Minnesota, we watched a female Mallard diving and 
eating clams. She was in about two feet of water and after diving down would 
come back up with a clam in her mouth. When she swallowed, the clam 
protruded from her neck as it went down. She consume eight clams in 15 
minutes.   I was surprised at this behavior as I thought Mallards were 
simply dabblers. Only one of my guidebooks (Smithsonian) noted that Mallards 
sometimes eat mollusks and dive.

Sharon K.
Minneapolis