Mallard

The mallard (/ˈmælɑːrd/ or /ˈmælərd/) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.

The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black speculum feathers which commonly also include iridescent blue feathers especially among males. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. This species is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic ducks.

Taxonomy and evolution

The mallard was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, and still bears its original binomial name.

Mallard (band)

Mallard was the name of a band featuring ex-members of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band.

In early 1974, after the recording of the uncharacteristically mainstream Unconditionally Guaranteed album, the tensions between Captain Beefheart and bandmembers Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo), Mark Boston (Rockette Morton) and Art Tripp III (Ed Marimba) had finally reached a breaking point, and the three members left Beefheart's Magic Band. Together, they formed Mallard, with Sam Galpin as vocalist and Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards, releasing their eponymous debut album in 1975, with logistical support from Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull fame), who financed the recording using his mobile recording unit on his English estate. The debut included a version of the Captain Beefheart instrumental "Peon", as Harkleroad felt the group could improve on the original. Anderson's involvement with Mallard including recording with the group, but Harkleroad later destroyed these recordings.John French (Drumbo) was originally involved with the band, and co-wrote some songs.

Mallard (surname)

Mallard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Vile

Vile may refer to:

People

Mythology

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Vile (surname)

Vile is a British surname which may refer to:

The origin of the name is most likely from Danish a village or coastal area of Denmark that still exists today and named after the Norse pagan god Vile (Vili) the brother of Oden who created the earth with their brother Vi.

Vile (band)

Vile is an American death metal band, formed in 1996 in Concord, California by guitarist-producer Colin E. Davis (who is now the only original member in the line-up) and singer Juan Urteaga, recruiting the rest of the band from the ranks of disbanded groups such as Lords of Chaos, Entropy, Sporadic Psychosis and Thanatopsis. Vile toured the United States and Europe several times since their inception in 1996 including with Cannibal Corpse in 2004. Their most recent tour was of Japan in December 2013.

The band has released four studio albums between 1999 and 2011 and re-released their demos and some live material on Rare Tracks, distributed by Hammerheart Records. The band started recording of the fourth album Metamorphosis on January 25, 2009, which was released in late 2011 by Willowtip Records in North America and Hammerheart Records in Europe.

Vile found publicity in the late 90's when members of the band Cannibal Corpse praised their sound and wore their T shirts in publicity photos. Although Vile's sound has a wide variety of influences, their first album contained riffs clearly influenced by Cannibal Corpse and the name Vile itself is the title of an album by Cannibal Corpse. Founding member Davis has stated that these relations were unintentional and his biggest early influence was the Florida band Morbid Angel. Vile is known for high standards in musicianship and studio quality, and Davis produced and recorded their albums, sometimes in coordination with singer Juan Urteaga.