The Oregon Duck mascot is designed as a mallard-style duck character, and it is officially based on Disney’s Donald Duck through a long‑standing licensing agreement between the University of Oregon and Disney.

What “type” of duck is it?

  • Visually, the costume looks like a classic cartoon mallard: white-feathered body, bright orange bill and feet, and green‑and‑yellow Oregon gear rather than realistic plumage.
  • In-universe and in most fan discussions, people just call him “The Duck” or sometimes (controversially) “Puddles,” not by a biological species name.
  • Historically, Oregon’s live duck mascot in the 1920s was called Puddles and would have been a typical waterfowl, but the modern costumed Oregon Duck is a stylized character, not a specific wild species.

Quick background and fun context

  • The character originated when Oregon’s athletic director Leo Harris made a handshake deal with Walt Disney in the 1940s to use Donald Duck as the school’s mascot.
  • Over time, the costume was tweaked so it looks a bit less like Donald while still clearly being the same basic duck character that fans recognize.
  • The university was once nicknamed the “Webfoots,” a reference to New England fishermen who settled in Oregon, which eventually evolved into the Ducks identity and today’s mascot.

If you’re asking as a bird nerd

If you’re thinking in terms of real duck species (like mallard vs. teal vs. wigeon), the closest real-world analogue is a cartoon mallard —but officially, it’s “The Oregon Duck,” a licensed Donald Duck‑style mascot rather than a biologically accurate species.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.