Dabblers and Divers are the two major groups of Ducks. Dabbler ducks float on water surface. They tilt their rear end up and dip the bill into water to feed on small organisms. They occur in shallow waters. Diver ducks float on deepwater bodies. They dive deep into water to feed.
There are many varieties of ducks, only a few make sounds that could be described as a quack. Countryside ducks quack with a slow drawl. The city ducks quack louder, faster and more frequently. The famous cartoon characters, Donald duck is more a countryside duck than Daffy duck who is noisy and rough.
Ducks in the wild, build a very simple nest of grass usually under a bush above the water edge. The nest is lined with feathers for warmth. Only the female duck tends to nesting and raising the young. The female lays more than a dozen eggs at a time. When she has to leave the nest, she covers the eggs with grass and camouflages the nest. The young can readily swim about after hatching. Mother duck takes care of the young till they become independent. The father duck takes no part in family care. The two parents however exhibit a strong tie between the pair.
Ducks always fly and swim in large groups for protection. When they rest on the ground, the birds on the perimeter sleep with one eye open, the eye away from the flock in order to watch for predators. Birds in the center sleep with both eyes closed.
At the approach of a predator, fox or an eagle, each member of the flock gets alerted and the entire flock takes to wings. The collective movement makes the ducks a difficult target for the predators.
Ducks fly long distances. When they have to fly during nights, the stars guide them. This is called stellar navigation. When ducks come in for landing, they turn upside down tip from side to side for a brief moment in order to lose altitude. This is called whiffing. They spread their wings and tail when close to ground and slow their speed for landing.
In the early years of 20th century, Ducks were hunted in great numbers in the marshes of east coast of US. Duck hunting was a widespread sport and fully automatic guns were specially made and used by hunters. Tame ducks were used as decoys to attract wild ducks to hunting grounds in Britain. Hunting dogs were specially trained to pick up ducks that were shot down. Also egg collection from the duck nests was yet another sport. In Quebec and Labrador this sport has resulted in the very extinction of the Labrador duck.
Today duck hunting is no more a sport. It is illegal.
|
