Quack, quack

Freely wandering around at the Zoo, this male Mallard gave me a chance to see inside a duck's bill.

"The mallard has what you might call a typical duck's bill. The bill isn't very long, but it's not very short, either. It's not overly wide, nor overly narrow. It's a very versatile bill because it lets the mallard eat a wide assortment of plants and animals, from microscopic plant seeds to snails and acorns.

Wildlife biologists consider mallards to be "gen-eralist feeders." That means they'll eat whatever food is available. Although mallards sometimes eat insects, plankton and even snails, more than 90 percent of a mallard's diet comes from plants, They mostly eat wetland plants, but they'll also consume land plants, including grasses and crop plants like wheat, barley, rice, oats and peanuts.

If you look closely, you can see a kind of serrated fringe along a mallard's bill. This uneven edge not only allows it to grip food more securely, but it also strains tiny plants and animals from water or mud." From mdc.mo.gov/kids/out-in/2004.