What the OED says is that "mallard" was used both for a wild duck (Anas boscas, an old name for our A. platyrhynchos or a different species?) and for the male specifically. So the opposite of "duck", which is any duck-type fowl and also the female specifically (like "ducks and drakes").
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2003-01-18 10:01 pm (UTC)