Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Mallards Sitting on Pond's Edge" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. Mallards are the quintessential waterfowl for many Americans. The drake's characteristic emerald-green head and amethyst speculum also make this duck one of the most easily identified waterfowl. The hen is rather drab and provides a marked contrast to her spectacular mate. The most plentiful and broadly distributed duck in the Northern Hemisphere, the mallard nests from the northeastern United States to the cold waters of the Bering Sea. It exhibits, however, a decided preference for the western provinces of Canada. The densest migration corridors extend from southeastern Saskatchewan in Canada through the south-central states of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, but mallards winter everywhere there is open freshwater habitat throughout the United States and Canada. Image Size: 18 x 19 in. Overall Size: 18 x 20 in. Unframed. (B15032)