The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck · The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck Finding a Mate Mallard ducks...
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The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck Finding a Mate Mallard ducks look for a mate in winter. Male ducks bob their heads up and down to find a female mate. Hatching When the duckling has grown in its egg, it uses its beak to crack the shell open. The First Days The mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the nest. She leads them down to the water when they are ready. Growing Up Ducklings can fly when they are about 50 days old. Mallard ducks can have their own babies when they are one year old. The life cycle then starts again! Nesting Ducks build their nests near water. They build them with leaves, grass and feathers. Female ducks lay about 12 eggs. They sit on their nests to keep their eggs warm. Photo courtesy of Stevie-B (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence visit twinkl.com
Transcript of The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck · The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck Finding a Mate Mallard ducks...
The Life Cycle of a Mallard DuckFinding a Mate Mallard ducks look for a mate in winter.
Male ducks bob their heads up and down to find a female mate.
HatchingWhen the duckling has grown in its egg, it uses its beak to crack the shell open.
The First DaysThe mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the nest. She leads them down to the water when they are ready.
Growing Up Ducklings can fly when they are about 50 days old. Mallard ducks can have their own babies when they are one year old.
The life cycle then starts again!
NestingDucks build their nests near water. They build them with leaves, grass and feathers.
Female ducks lay about 12 eggs. They sit on their nests to keep their eggs warm.
Photo courtesy of Stevie-B (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence
visit twinkl.com
1. Where do ducks build their nests? Tick one.
in the garden
12
near water
24
on the beach
6
2. How many eggs does a mallard duck lay? Tick one.
3. What does the duckling use to crack its shell open with? Tick one.
its leg
50 days
its head
25 days
its beak
5 days
4. Circle the correct word to complete the sentence.
5. How old are ducklings when they can fly? Tick one.
The mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the .
water nest soil
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Questions
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1. Where do ducks build their nests? Tick one.
in the garden
12
near water
24
on the beach
6
2. How many eggs does a mallard duck lay? Tick one.
3. What does the duckling use to crack its shell open with? Tick one.
its leg
50 days
its head
25 days
its beak
5 days
4. Circle the correct word to complete the sentence.
5. How old are ducklings when they can fly? Tick one.
The mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the .
water nest soil
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Answers
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The Life Cycle of a Mallard DuckFinding a Mate Mallard ducks look for a mate in winter. Male ducks are called drakes. They bob their heads up and down and fluff up their feathers to find a female mate.
HatchingIt takes one month for a duckling to grow inside its egg. It has a sharp point on the end of its beak which it uses to crack the shell open with.
The First DaysThe mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the nest. When they are ready, the mummy duck leads the ducklings to the water. They never return to the nest.
Growing Up Ducklings are able to feed themselves. They eat leaves, insects, seeds and roots. Ducks are able to fledge (fly) and leave their mummy when they are 50 days old.
Mallard ducks can have their own young when they are one year old. The life cycle then starts all over again!
NestingThe female duck builds her nest near water. It is made from leaves, grass and feathers.
The female duck lays about 12 eggs. She lays one egg each day. She sits on her nest to keep the eggs warm.
Photo courtesy of Stevie-B (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence
visit twinkl.com
1. What time of year do mallard ducks look for a mate? Tick one.
spring
leaves
autumn
soil
winter
feathers
2. What does a duck use to make her nest with? Tick two.
3. How many eggs does a duck lay each day? Tick one.
12 1 5
4. Complete this sentence.
5. Draw a line to complete the sentences.
When they are ready, the mummy duck leads the ducklings to the .
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Questions
It has a sharp point on the end of its beak
and leave their mummy when they are 50 days old.
The mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the nest.
Ducks are able to fledge (fly)
which it uses to crack the shell open with.
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1. What time of year do mallard ducks look for a mate? Tick one.
spring
leaves
autumn
soil
winter
feathers
2. What does a duck use to make her nest with? Tick two.
3. How many eggs does a duck lay each day? Tick one.
12 1 5
4. Complete this sentence.
5. Draw a line to complete the sentences.
When they are ready, the mummy duck leads the ducklings to the water.
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Answers
It has a sharp point on the end of its beak
and leave their mummy when they are 50 days old.
The mummy duck keeps her ducklings warm in the nest.
Ducks are able to fledge (fly)
which it uses to crack the shell open with.
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The Life Cycle of a Mallard DuckMallard ducks are the most common species of duck found in the United Kingdom. Let’s take a look at the life cycle of this amazing duck.
NestingThe female duck starts to build her nest in March. Ducks make their nests from leaves and grass. They also line them with their own down (feathers). They build their nests near water.
The female duck lays about 12 eggs in total. This is called a clutch. She lays one egg each day.
Finding a Mate Mallard ducks look for a mate in late winter. Male ducks are called drakes. They bob their heads up and down, fluff up their feathers and whistle to attract a female mate.
The female duck sits on her nest to keep the eggs warm. When she needs to leave the nest, she covers her eggs with down to protect them from other animals, such as foxes and crows.
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The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
HatchingIt takes about one month for a duckling to grow inside its egg. When it is ready to hatch, the duckling starts to move its head and feet inside the egg.
The duckling has a sharp point on the end of its beak which it uses to crack the shell open with. This is called an egg tooth.
The First DaysThe mummy duck keeps the hatchlings warm in the nest. When they are ready, the mummy duck leads the ducklings to the water. They never return to the nest.
Young ducks do not have flying feathers to start with, so the mummy duck needs to watch them carefully.
Growing Up Ducklings can feed themselves. They eat leaves, insects, seeds and roots. Mallard ducks are dabbling ducks, this means they can dip their head underwater to find food.
Ducklings are able to fledge (fly) and leave their mummy when they are about 50 days old.
Mallard ducks can have their own young when they are one year old. This means that the life cycle starts all over again!
Photo courtesy of Stevie-B (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence
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1. What is the most common species of duck found in the United Kingdom? Tick one.
mallard tufted ruddy
2. What is a male duck called?
3. Complete this sentence.
4. Write the numbers 1 to 5 in the order of a mallard duck’s life cycle.
6. What do you think it means when the text says ‘the life cycle starts all over again’?
The female duck lays about 12 eggs in total. This is called a .
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Questions
The duckling hatches out of the egg.
The mummy duck builds a nest.
The duckling is led to water.
The mummy duck lays her eggs.
The duckling grows and has its own young.
5. What does the word fledge mean?
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1. What is the most common species of duck found in the United Kingdom? Tick one.
mallard tufted ruddy
2. What is a male duck called?
3. Complete this sentence.
4. Write the numbers 1 to 5 in the order of a mallard duck’s life cycle.
6. What do you think it means when the text says ‘the life cycle starts all over again’?
The female duck lays about 12 eggs in total. This is called a clutch.
The Life Cycle of a Mallard Duck
Answers
A male duck is called a drake.
The word fledge means fly.
The duckling hatches out of the egg. 3
The mummy duck builds a nest. 1
The duckling is led to water. 4
The mummy duck lays her eggs. 2
The duckling grows and has its own young. 5
5. What does the word fledge mean?
This means that now the ducklings are grown into adult ducks, they can have babies of their own and these babies will also grow in the same way so the cycle starts again.
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