Mallards can live in almost any wetland habitat, whether natural or artificial. They thrive in and around lakes, ponds, rivers, swamps, estuaries, and coastlines, as well as in parks and backyards. This versatility, along with some help from humans who likely introduced them to various locations, has allowed them to spread across the globe. They can be found in North America, Eurasia, and New Zealand, as well as in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Japan, and Australia.