What is a duck, is it a bird or mammal, its different types, how to identify it, where and how long does it live, what does it eat, its adaptations, interesting facts
[53] p. : 18 cm
Dabbling or Puddle Ducks include the familiar Mallard. Dabblers feed on or near the surface of the water. They are often observed with their head under the water and their tails sticking straight up, as they feed on underwater vegetation, snails or small crustaceans. What you should know: Most species have a brightly colored speculum (a colorful area on the secondaries, best seen in flight). Birds in this group can leap straight into the air, they do not need a running start like most species of diving ducks. Many species in this group will hybridize with others. Mallards will cross with many other species, resulting in unusual color patters that are often observed in parks. Identification challenges: All of the female dabbling ducks are similar in appearance. Identification challenges: Males in Eclipse plumage loose the ability to fly for several weeks and resemble the female of the same species. Identification challenges: Most males in adult, breeding plumage are easy to identify. The exceptions are the Mottled Duck and American Black Duck, which both resemble a female Mallard. American Black Duck American Wigeon Blue-winged Teal Cinnamon Teal Gadwall Green-winged Teal Mallard Mottled Duck Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Comparison of female Mallard, Mottled and American Black Duck To start things off, here is a quick comparison of the female ducks in this group. The images also illustrate how lighting and possible molting patterns can effect the appearance of a bird. The coloration of the Mallard female, Mottled Duck and American Black Duck can be the most confusing. Female Mallard is the palest, Mottled Duck a little darker and the American Black Duck the darkest, but lighting conditions can add to the difficulty of accurate identification. Range of Mottled Duck and American Black Duck do not overlap. Bill color of female Mottled Duck is apparently variable. 6th Edition of the Nat Geo Guide says it is a greenish yellow color. Second edition of Sibley says olive drab to orange. Both guides do not indicate any bill markings. Texas birds are variable. Ranging from clear orange to olive to orangish and heavily marked. Visit the Mottled Duck page for images.
Handbook of birds of eastern North America :. New York :D. Appleton,1898.. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14023913
Antarctica is the only place that Waterfowl are not found. Ducks, geese, and swans roam from the oceans to desert and Artic to the tropics. Watching birds has been a favorite for quite a long time.
[53] p. : 18 cm
We put together 17 types of ducks with white heads that you may encounter (including pictures, information, and identification guides).
We put together 17 types of ducks with white heads that you may encounter (including pictures, information, and identification guides).
14 Duck Breeds telling you their breed characteristics, temperament, amount of eggs laid a year, interesting facts, broodiness, & size.
While these are only a handful, there are more than 120 different types of duck in the world. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies: Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae And yes, ducks may have been responsible for the discovery of the Americas? Apparently on October 8th, 1492, crewmen aboard one of Columbus's ships, the Pinta, observed ducks flying south-west and altered course to investigate. On October 12th, they sighted land in the Bahamas. Interesting Duck Facts & Trivia All types of ducks are part of the bird family Anatidae, and there are species of ducks found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica. A baby duck is called a duckling, and an adult male is a drake. An adult female duck is called a hen or a duck, and a group of ducks can be called a raft, team or paddling. All ducks have highly waterproof feathers as a result of an intricate feather structure and a waxy coating that is spread on each feather while preening. A duck's feathers are so waterproof that even when the duck dives underwater, its downy underlayer of feathers will stay completely dry. Ducks are precocial, which means that ducklings are covered with down and able to walk and leave the nest just a few hours after hatching. A hen will lead her ducklings up to a half mile or more over land after hatching in order to find a suitable water source for swimming and feeding. Male ducks have an eclipse plumage similar to females that they wear after the breeding season for about a month as their new feathers grow. During that month, they are completely flightless and more vulnerable to predators. Most duck species are monogamous for a breeding season but they do not mate for life. When constructing her nest, a hen will line it with soft down feathers she plucks from her own breast. This gives the eggs the best possible cushioning and insulation. Ducks are omnivorous, opportunistic eaters and will eat grass, aquatic plants, insects, seeds, fruit, fish, crustaceans and other types of food. A duck's bill is specialized to help it forage in mud and to strain food from the water. A hard nail at the tip of the bill helps with foraging, and a comb-like structure on the sides of the bill strains small insects and crustaceans from water. Most male ducks are silent and very few ducks actually "quack." Instead, their calls may include squeaks, grunts, groans, chirps, whistles, brays and growls. It is a myth that a duck's quack won't echo. This has been conclusively disproved through different scientific acoustic tests, and was even featured as "busted" on an episode of the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters. But like it or not, some myths refuse to die, "a duck's quack doesn't echo is an enduring urban myth." This is true even when researched and busted by the University of Salford, Manchester, England. When you think about it, how hard is it to put a duck in a sound studio and turn on the recorder. Result - the duck's quack echoes. Ducks have been domesticated as pets and farm animals for more than 500 years, and all domestic ducks are descended from either the mallard or the Muscovy duck. There are more than 40 breeds of domestic ducks. The white Pekin duck, also called the Long Island duck, is the most common variety raised for eggs and meat. One amusing ritual for introducing friends to an Indian restaurant, is to persuade the greenhorn to order a Bombay duck, and then watch their incredulity when the waiter brings a dried fish. The "Bombay Duck" really is a fish, or to be completely accurate, a lizardfish, which does indeed live in the waters off Bombay. Seven Peking ducks were imported into the United States from China in 1873. Little did these entrepreneurs realise that these ducks would turn into a $30 million industry farming and cooking their Peking ducks ancestors. Incidentally, attempts to rename Peking duck to Beijing duck have been a spectacular failure. "Dabbling ducks" is a general name for a classic duck. The duck you see in children's books, the mallard duck that you see at top of this page and the Peking duck in the previous snippet. The male duck is the drake, while the female duck is the hen; their eggs hatch into ducklings. A flock of flying ducks is a 'team of ducks'. When they are on the water we call them a "paddling of ducks." However, everyone else seems to refer to them a "flock of ducks", whether they are flying, swimming, or on land. In England, in the sport cricket, a batsman who is out without scoring is said to be out for a duck. One "wag" back in 1859 spotted that a zero (0) on a scoreboard looked like a duck's egg - some in America refer to a zero score as a "goose egg!" Here is an unusual word to throw into your conversation - "anatine", it means duck-like. The Term "Lame Duck" "Lame duck" was originally an 18th century term for investors in the stock market who could not, or would not, pay their brokers. Later in 1926 a Wisconsin newspaper, wrote the heading: "Making a lame duck of Coolidge". Calvin Coolidge would be the first of many American presidents to be saddled with the epithet - Lame Duck President. Today, Obama is a Lame Duck President who takes a lot of trips abroad while his administration shreds the Constitution at home! Donald Duck was banned in Finland - for wearing no pants in 1977 Because of their familiarity and comic nature, ducks are often featured as fictional characters. The two most famous fictional ducks are Disney's Donald Duck, who premiered in 1934, and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck, who premiered in 1937. This shows the power of hype, and the way in which mundane facts are exaggerated, take out of context, and distorted. What happened back in 1977 was that Youth Board in Helsinki decided not to subscribe to the Donald Duck comic. As on off-the-cuff remark one of the committee members commented that Donald Duck did not wear pants. The rest as they say is history - or in this case Internet mythology. Rare Ducks in Madagascar Eighteen Madagascan pochards - the world's most endangered duck - have hatched in a captive breeding centre. This brings the world population of the ducks to just 60. Scientists are studying the remaining wild population closely, in order to understand the reasons behind the species' decline and to determine the right conditions for releasing birds back into their natural habitat. Duck Race An incredible 250,000 plastic ducks took to the water in 'The Great British Duck Race' 2008. The event was held on the river Thames at Molesey Lock, near Hampton Court Palace, in London. The stretch of river was cunningly selected so that it took about 2½ hours to drift down the one-kilometre course. Unfortunately, the 2010 race was postponed. As usual, each duck was sponsored for a charity, and the winning owner received £10,000 - or $15125.00 US Dollars. The prize fund generously stretched to include the next 29 ducks to finish. It costs £2 to adopt a duck, that's about $3 US Dollars. The event could raise as much as £200,000 for charity. And that's about $302,500.00 US Dollars, which is no small amount of money - unless of course, we're talking about one of the Obama's monthly vacations which run into the Millions of US Dollars each month. "The Great British Duck Race" is said to be the largest charity duck race in the world. We have to say that a plastic duck race is a fun way to involve a community in fund raising. Urban Myth - "Ringer" Plastic Race Ducks? It was reported from an unsubstantiated source that a plastic duck race in Chicago had to be abandoned when someone tried to substitute a "ringer", a plastic duck with a tiny outboard motor. Imagine that! While a miniature motor in a duck is far-fetched idea, there supposedly was a Duck race in New York where a plastic duck was filled with baking powder with a tiny hole at the rear. The idea was that the baking powder would react with the water to produce carbon dioxide, which would propel the "ringer" faster than the rest. The problem was that when filled with backing powder, the duck was much lower in the water the rest and soon drew attention. The other problem was that there was no way of controlling the direction the duck was propelled - unless you installed a radio controlled rudder! Singing and Dancing Duck A duck, named Bengbeng, [apparently translates as 'Silly'] has become a celebrity for its singing, dancing and counting abilities according to the Dahe Daily. Its owner, Du Xinai of Xingxiang city, China, takes the duck with him when he goes to the local agricultural market to buy vegetables each day. This funny duck can be seen wearing a small red scarf and a pair of tiny shoes. "If you ask him to sing, he quacks rhythmically while shaking his head and body. He quite enjoys it. If you put up one finger, he quacks once, then twice with two fingers, and so on." Du says "Bengbeng is also a good citizen, and always waits for the traffic lights." Bengbeng has become quite a star. Everywhere he goes, people welcome him like a "Super Star." Only in America - Duck Gets 'Order of Protection' A pet duck named Circles, who was shot and wounded with a pellet gun, has received an order of protection. New York introduced the protection law to deal with domestic violence. This was the first time that an animal has benefited from such an order. What happened was that the duck Circles was in its owner's backyard when a neighbour shot it through the neck. The duck was successfully treated by a vet. Meanwhile, the neighbour was charged with animal cruelty, and at the arraignment and Circles got an order of protection. Duck Lips or Bills? Ducks have bills, this girl has Duck Lips! Duck Face? People making what is now termed Duck Faces on the Internet is a bit confusing. It is believed that they are trying to be sexy and failing at it big time! Yes, these are city girl "Duck Faces!" Finally duck funnies for the kids! A farmer got tired of his old rooster waking him up late. So being the good guy that he was, he retired his old alarm clock and replaced him with a duck. Yes, that's so he'd always wake at the "quack of dawn!" Q: What do ducks get after they eat? A: A bill! Q: What do you call a crate full of ducks? A: A box of quackers! Q: Who stole the soap? A: The robber ducky! Q: What do you call it when it rains chickens and ducks? A: Fowl weather. Q: What says "Quick, Quick!"? A: A duck with the hiccups Q: Why do ducks watch the news? A: For the feather forecast! Q: Where did the duck go when he was sick? A: To the Ducktor Q: What did the detective duck say to his partner? A: I hope we Quack this case. Q: What did the duck say to the banker? A: My bill is bigger than yours. Q: Which side of a duck has the prettiest feathers? A: The outside! Q: Why did the duck fly south for the winter? A: Because it was too far to walk. Q: Which animal grows down? A: A duck Customer: How much is that duck? Shopkeeper: Ten dollars. Customer: Okay, could you please send me the bill? Shopkeeper: I'm sorry, but you'll have to take the whole bird. Q: What do you call two ducks and a cow? A: Quackers and Milk. Q: What do you get if you cross a duck with fireworks? A: A firequacker! A duck walks into a pharmacy and says, "Do you have any chapstick?" When the pharmacist puts it on the counter, the duck replies, "Thanks, just put it on my bill." Q: How do you get down off a horse? A: You don't get down off a horse... you get down off a duck. Q: What's another name for a clever duck? A: A wise quacker! I bet you're glad this post is done! Until later, thanks for visiting my blog!
[53] p. : 18 cm
Antarctica is the only place that Waterfowl are not found. Ducks, geese, and swans roam from the oceans to desert and Artic to the tropics. Watching birds has been a favorite for quite a long time.
[53] p. : 18 cm
[53] p. : 18 cm
[53] p. : 18 cm
A guide of the three main groups of ducks and 30 different species with pictures, descriptions, and identifiers.
Introduction: Special History Between Waterfowl & Humans Waterfowl (or "wildfowl" for our friends on the other side of the pond) Family Anatidae 143 species 250 subspecies 11 tribes Anatini dabbling ducks Aythini pochards Mergini sea ducks and sawbills Dendrocygnini whistling ducks Tadornini sheldgeese and shelducks Oxyurini Stiff-tailed ducks Cairinini perching ducks Anseranatini magpie goose Strictonettini freckled ducks Trachyerini steamer ducks Anserini swans and geese Waterfowl are a "way of life" Tax dollars are allocated toward management billions hunting! Old tradition very much alive today Entire college courses dedicated to it North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) Based of conserving waterfowl and their habitat 3 overarching goals Abundant and resilient waterfowl populations to support hunting and other uses without imperiling habitat Wetlands and related habitats sufficient to sustain waterfowl populations at desired levels, while providing places to recreate and ecological services that benefit society Growing numbers of waterfowl hunters, other conservationists and citizens who enjoy and actively support waterfowl and wetland conservation Wetlands Critical waterfowl habitat Other waterfowl habitat Rivers, bays, lakes, marshes, agricultural fields Food & Feeding Ecology Adaptive Radiation Concept describing distribution of species with various body plans good at exploiting habitat Differences within and among habitats Dabblers vs Divers Morphology varies by food type Terrestrial veg. Short, serrated bill Large gizzard Long cecae Aquatic veg. Wide, spatulate bill Large gizzard Long intestines and cecae Long necks Tubers and rhizomes Robust bill, head, and neck Long neck Small gizzard and gastrointestinal tract Seeds Dabbling Lamellae Dexterous bill Large gizzard Inverts Lamellae Dabbling or diving small gizzard and gastrointestinal tract Molluscs Stout bill Strong, deep divers Big gizzard, small gastrointestinal tract Fish Serrrated bill Strong, fast, agile divers Small gizzard and gastrointestinal tract Breeding Biology Natural Selection (what's needed for it?) Competition Mutation Limited resources (competition for) Heritable traits Variation Survive long enough to breed (pass on that trait) Selected FOR Breeding and preparing to breed is a huge investment Capitol vs income breeding Capitol Uses fat stores to produce eggs Income Uses energy as it's acquired Green wave Refers to the growth of green vegetation as it moves in latitude Migratory birds are said to "follow the green wave" throughout their migrations Population Dynamics Populations Limitations Food Mates Nest sites Threats Bottlenecks Drift Disease botulism fatal to waterfowl lives in warm anaerobic conditions cholera infection of the small intestine caught by consuming contaminated food/water duck plague caused by duck herpesvirus type 1 causes high mortality (90%) avian influenza caused by H5N1 very contagious Monitoring populations Movements & Migration Movement patterns 4 flyways Atlantic Mississippi Central Pacific Migration Most waterfowl migrate some travel thousands of miles at a time Tracking movements various ways to track waterfowl banding individuals wear colored neck or leg bands with unique codes transmitters track birds electronically with satellite, radio, or GPS Molt migration Occurs after breeding Takes place on "molt grounds" Render the birds flightless Adults and new young of the year grow new flight feathers at the same time the family then migrates together Eclipse plumage Mostly in ducks Males resemble females for a period of time Useful when the birds are flightless aids in camouflage while grounded Mechanisms and timing Cues Change in day length Slimbridge study Birds shifted migration patterns because of flood lights directed at the pond left earlier than normal Food availability Weather changes causing changes in food availability weather also triggers the birds to start putting on weight Fine line between enough fat to migrate and too much to fly at all WINGLOADING! Social & Sexual Behavior Social Various different social behaviors are seen in waterfowl Allopreening One individual preens another beginning of courtship Triumph ceremony usually after a female accepts a male's courtship displays or after a pair successfully defends or wins a fight over territory with another pair Preflight signaling communicate that they want to leave an area, it will signal to its partner with a series of head shakes, wing flaps, and vocalizations Family behavior Family group typically led by female Parental care can include one or both parents if male is involved, he usually keeps a look out while the family feeds occurs through fledging sometimes longer Courtship and mate selection Males typically display to females Brightly colored plumage However, forced copulations are common sometimes result in death of the female Females choose quality males Pairs form in the winter Some breeding occurs year-round (Laysan duck) Mating systems Polygamy Single male mates with multiple female More common in ducks than geese Monogamy Single mate for the season or for life ~90% of waterfowl species Conservation & Management To be discussed in elements 3, 4, and 5
A4 size Poster of different breeds of pigs, size 8.5 x 12 inches. 21.5 x 30.5 cm. Laminated or unlaminated
[53] p. : 18 cm
