Mallard and Teal

Widespread in Europe and North America the Mallard is a familiar duck on most stretches of water. The male is colourful with a green iridescent head and yellow beak, white collar, brown breast, black rear and white tail. The female is an overall mottled brown but has an orange beak. Both have a blue and white patch on the trailing edge of each wing. Small numbers of teal breed throughout most of Britain and Ireland, but the duck is most common as a winter visitor. The teal is the United Kingdom's smallest duck.

Archibald Thorburn wrote that: “Looking at things with the eye of the ordinary lover of nature, one can only attempt to represent with brush and pencil the wonderful beauty of the living creatures around us. The chief essential is to acquire the faculty of observing and noting down the many subtle differences in pose and little tricks of habit in different species, and this knowledge can only be obtained by patient watching.”

The print is hand numbered and accompanied by a certificate signed by the Master Printer and bearing a matching number to the print.