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:''For duck as a food, see ]; for other meanings, see ]''.

{{TOCleft}}
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Ducks
| image = Ducks in plymouth, massachusetts.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = A female and male ]
| regnum = ]ia
| phylum = ]
| classis = ]
| ordo = ]
| familia = ]
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision =
]<br/>
]<br/>
]<br/>
]
}}
'''Duck''' is the common name for a number of species in the ] family of ]s. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the ] article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the ]s and ], and may be found in both ] and ].

Most ducks have a wide flat ] adapted for ]. They exploit a variety of food sources such as ]es, ]s, ], ]s, small ]s, ]s, and small ]s. ]s and ]s forage deep underwater; ]s feed on the surface of water or on land. ]s have in their beaks special plates called ]<ref>
{{cite web
| last = Ogden
| first = Evans
| title = Dabbling Ducks
| publisher = CWE
| url = http://www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/species/dabbducks.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-02 }}
</ref> similar to a whale's ]. These tiny rows of plates along the inside of the beak let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly. A few specialized species such as the ], ], and the ]s are adapted to catch large fish.

The males (drakes) of northern species often have extravagant ], but that is ]ed in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less ]. Many species of ducks are temporarily flightless while ]ing; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes ].

Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and arctic ], are migratory, but others, particularly in the tropics, are not. Some ducks, particularly in ] where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain.

Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.

Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated ] with similar forms, such as ]s or divers, ]s, ]s, and ]s.

==Predators==
A worldwide group like the ducks has many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like ], ]ns and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as ]s. Nests may also be raided by land-based predators, and brooding females may sometimes be caught unaware on the nest by ]s (e.g. ]es) and large birds, including ]s and ]s).

Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators. This can occasionally include fish such as the ] in North America or the pike in ]. In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few ]s, although the ] regularly uses its speed and strength to catch ducks.

==Etymology==
The word '''duck''' (from ] ''dūce''), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *''dūcan'') meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something", because of the way many species in the ] group feed by upending (compare the ] word ''duiken'' = "to dive").

This happened because the older ] word for "duck" came to be pronounced the same as the word for "end": other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch ''eend'' = "duck", ''eind'' = "end"; also among ] compare ] ''anas'' (] ''anat-'') = "duck", ] ''anta'' (masc.) = "end", ]n ''antis'' = "duck".

==Hunting and Domestication==
In many areas, wild ducks of various species (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by ], or formerly by ]s. From this came the expression "a sitting duck", which means "an easy target".

Ducks have many economic uses, being ]ed for their ], ]s, ]s and ]. They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. All ] are descended from the wild ] ''Anas platyrhynchos'', except Muscovy Ducks<ref>
{{cite web
| last =
| title = Mallard - Nature Notes
| publisher = Ducks Unlimited Canada
| url = http://www.ducks.ca/resource/general/naturenotes/mallard.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-02 }}
</ref>. Many domestic breeds have become much larger than their wild ancestor, with a "hull length" (from base of neck to base of tail) of 30 cm (12 inches) or more and routinely able to swallow an adult ] ], ''Rana temporaria'', whole.

] is often made using the ] of domestic ducks, rather than of ].

In a wildlife pond, the bottom over most of the area should be too deep for dabbling wild ducks to reach the bottom, to protect bottom-living life from being constantly disturbed and eaten by wild ducks dredging, and ]s should not be allowed in.{{fact}}

Despite widespread misconceptions, most ducks other than female ]s and ]s do not "quack". A common false ] asserts that quacks do not echo.<ref>
{{cite web
| last = Amos
| first = Jonathan
| title = Sound science is quackers
| publisher = BBC News
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3086890.stm
| accessdate = 2006-11-02 }}
</ref>

==Humor==
In ], ] ] and ]s at the ] (]) finished a year-long ] ], concluding that, of the animals in the world, the duck is the type that attracts most ] and silliness; he said "If you're going to tell a ] involving an animal, make it a duck." The word "duck" may have become an ] in many ] because ducks are seen as a silly animal, and their odd appearance compared to other birds. Of the many ], many are silly ] characters (see the '']'' article mentioning humor in the word "duck").

=="Quacks like a duck"==
The expression "quacks like a duck" is sometimes a short form for "It looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, it swims like a duck, so it's a duck.", used as ]ial to counter abstruse arguments that something is not what it appears to be.

==Trivia==
*Some ancient Egyptian art depicts some ships of the ] with ornamental ]s shaped like a duck's head.<ref>
{{cite web
| last = Cornelius
| first =
| title = The Battle of the Nile
| publisher = The South African Military History Society
| url = http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol074ic.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-02 }}
</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Comb duck.jpg|African ]
Image:duck-on-ground.jpg|] drake
Image:ruddy.shelduck.arp.2.750pix.jpg|] - not a true duck but a member of the ]
Image:Wood_duck_eclipse.jpg|Male ] in eclipse plumage
Image:Female Mallard.jpg|Female Mallard
Image:Mother duck with chicks.jpg|Female Mallard with ducklings
Image:Muscovy-duck-1.jpg|Male ]
Image:Mandarin.duck.arp.jpg|Mandarin Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, Gloucestershire, England.
Image:Keralabackducks (75).JPG|Ducks in a pond
Image:Aa_ducks_and_geese_003.jpg|Ducks and geese in a yard in ], UK
Image:Indian Runner Duck.jpg|]
Image:Ringed teal.gif|]

</gallery>

==See also==
{{wiktionarypar|duck}}
*]
*]
*]
*] — ducks kept as pets or show animals and for meat and eggs and down
*]
*]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Commons|Duck}}
{{cookbook}}
* (from ])
*
* on the Internet Bird Collection
*
*
*
*
* (good for foreign names)
* (useful looking abstracts)
*
* (]s' impact on ]s by ] in the wild)
*{{gutenberg|no=18884|name=Ducks at a Distance, by Rob Hines}} - A modern illustrated guide to identification of US waterfowl.
*

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Revision as of 22:10, 18 January 2007

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