Short answers, pulled from the story.
The mallard's scientific name is Anas platyrhynchos, established as the priority name in 1906 by Einar Lönnberg. It derives from the Latin Anas, meaning duck, and the Ancient Greek platyrhynchus, meaning broad-billed, combining platys (broad) and rhunkhos (bill).
The mallard can crossbreed with 63 other species. It has hybridised with more than 40 species in the wild and an additional 20 in captivity, and the hybrids are often fertile, posing a significant threat to indigenous waterfowl through genetic pollution.
The IUCN rates the mallard as least concern because its own population, estimated at more than 17 million mature individuals as of 2025, is large and widespread. However, when introduced to new regions, mallards interbreed with indigenous wild ducks, producing fertile hybrids that can erode the genetic identity of native species to the point of extinction.
The female mallard makes the deep quack stereotypically associated with ducks. She often calls in sequences of 2-10 quacks, starting loud and decreasing in volume. The male produces a similar but deeper and quieter sound.
The mallard was first domesticated in Southeast Asia at least 4,000 years ago during the Neolithic Age. It was also farmed by the Romans in Europe and by the Malays in Asia, and almost all modern domestic duck breeds descend from it.
Trevor was a male mallard who appeared unexpectedly on the Pacific island of Niue in 2018, an atypical location for the species. Locals named him after New Zealand politician Trevor Mallard. He became a media attraction and died on Niue in 2019, known informally as the world's loneliest duck.