![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/3106846A-2FE1-4E9E-B2A3-6CD681CAD1A5/B86HJB.jpg)
A troup of mallard ducks on frozen Loch Morlich Cairngorm National Park Inverness-shire Highland Scotland SCO 2054
Stretching from Grantown-on-Spey in the north to the heads of the Angus Glens in the south and from Ballater in the east to Dalwhinnie and Laggan in the west the park covers roughly 10% of Scotland. It is home to a quarter of Scotland's native woodland and is a refuge for a host of rare plants and creatures, including 25% of the UK's threatened species. The National Park takes in some of the most spectacular landscapes in Britain, from the wild tundra of the high mountain tops to the wind-rocked seclusion of the ancient pinewoods. Heather moor, vivid with summer colour, and grand glens, haunt of red deer and golden eagle, are just some of the other habitats within the park. The mallard is a large and heavy looking duck. It has a long body and a long and broad bill. The male has a dark green head, a yellow bill, is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. The female is mainly brown with an orange bill. It breeds in all parts of the UK in summer and winter, wherever there are suitable wetland habitats, although it is scarcer in upland areas. Mallards in the UK may be resident breeders or migrants - many of the birds that breed in Iceland and northern Europe spend the winter here. SCO 2054
Size: 5380px × 3572px
Location: Loch Morlich Glenmore Aviemore Inverness-shire Scotland UK
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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