45-614: The ferruginous duck ( Aythya nyroca ), also known as ferruginous pochard , common white-eye or white-eyed pochard , is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia . The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek word, αἴθυιᾰ ( aithuia ), an unknown seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle , and the Russian word, нырок ( nyrok ), the Russian word for pochard , which occurs in
90-569: A derivative of the verb * dūcan 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen 'to dive'. This word replaced Old English ened / ænid 'duck', possibly to avoid confusion with other words, such as ende 'end' with similar forms. Other Germanic languages still have similar words for duck , for example, Dutch eend , German Ente and Norwegian and . The word ened / ænid
135-501: A distinct tribe in the subfamily Anatinae , the Aythyini . While morphologically close to the dabbling ducks , there are nonetheless some pronounced differences such as in the structure of the trachea . mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data indicate that the dabbling and diving ducks are fairly distant from each other, the outward similarities being due to convergent evolution . Alternatively,
180-450: A duck squatting on land cannot react to fly or move quickly, "a sitting duck" has come to mean "an easy target". These ducks may be contaminated by pollutants such as PCBs . Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, and feathers (particularly their down ). Approximately 3 billion ducks are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide. They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. Almost all
225-552: A few eggs hatch after the mother has abandoned the nest and led her ducklings to water. Female mallard ducks (as well as several other species in the genus Anas , such as the American and Pacific black ducks , spot-billed duck , northern pintail and common teal ) make the classic "quack" sound while males make a similar but raspier sound that is sometimes written as "breeeeze", but, despite widespread misconceptions, most species of duck do not "quack". In general, ducks make
270-648: A floating nest is built among emergent vegetation. The eggs are incubated for 25–27 days and the fledging period is 55–60 days. These birds feed mainly by diving or dabbling. They eat aquatic plants with some molluscs , aquatic insects and small fish. They often feed at night, and will upend (dabble) for food as well as the more characteristic diving. The species is threatened by the degradation and destruction of its favoured habitats by anthropogenic causes which are very wide and varied including impoundment, drainage, pollution and mismanagement. The introduction of non-native species has also caused habitat degradation, e.g.
315-489: A range of calls , including whistles, cooing, yodels and grunts. For example, the scaup – which are diving ducks – make a noise like "scaup" (hence their name). Calls may be loud displaying calls or quieter contact calls. A common urban legend claims that duck quacks do not echo; however, this has been proven to be false. This myth was first debunked by the Acoustics Research Centre at
360-409: A squirming frog. To avoid injury when digging into sediment it has no cere , but the nostrils come out through hard horn. The Guardian published an article advising that ducks should not be fed with bread because it damages the health of the ducks and pollutes waterways. Ducks generally only have one partner at a time , although the partnership usually only lasts one year. Larger species and
405-523: A tribe (Dendrocygnini) in the subfamily Anatinae or the subfamily Anserinae, or to their own subfamily (Dendrocygninae) or family (Dendrocyganidae). The freckled duck of Australia is either the sole member of the tribe Stictonettini in the subfamily Anserinae, or in its own family, the Stictonettinae. The shelducks make up the tribe Tadornini in the family Anserinae in some classifications, and their own subfamily, Tadorninae, in others, while
450-456: A variety of subfamilies and 'tribes'. The number and composition of these subfamilies and tribes is the cause of considerable disagreement among taxonomists. Some base their decisions on morphological characteristics , others on shared behaviours or genetic studies. The number of suggested subfamilies containing ducks ranges from two to five. The significant level of hybridisation that occurs among wild ducks complicates efforts to tease apart
495-402: Is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism , although there are exceptions such as the paradise shelduck of New Zealand , which is both strikingly sexually dimorphic and in which the female's plumage is brighter than that of the male. The plumage of juvenile birds generally resembles that of
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#1732782442712540-574: Is a very distinct one however. Although the group is cosmopolitan , most members are native to the Northern Hemisphere , and it includes several of the most familiar Northern Hemisphere ducks. This group of ducks is so named because its members feed mainly by diving, although in fact the Netta species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fresh water or on estuaries , though
585-403: Is sometimes labelled as a duckling. A male is called a drake and the female is called a duck, or in ornithology a hen. All ducks belong to the biological order Anseriformes , a group that contains the ducks, geese and swans, as well as the screamers , and the magpie goose . All except the screamers belong to the biological family Anatidae . Within the family, ducks are split into
630-522: The Chatham duck , a species with reduced flying capabilities which went extinct shortly after its island was colonised by Polynesian settlers. It is probable that duck eggs were gathered by Neolithic hunter-gathers as well, though hard evidence of this is uncommon. In many areas, wild ducks (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by shooting, or by being trapped using duck decoys . Because an idle floating duck or
675-729: The Galápagos Islands , where they are often vagrants and less often residents . A handful are endemic to such far-flung islands. Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and Arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory; those in the tropics are generally not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain. Ducks eat food sources such as grasses , aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians, worms, and small molluscs . Dabbling ducks feed on
720-616: The Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea , smaller number migrate into sub-Saharan Africa via the Nile Valley . Eastern birds winter in south and south-east Asia. These are gregarious birds, but less social than other Aythya species but where common it can form large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as tufted ducks and common pochards . Form pairs from January onwards and during courtship
765-576: The University of Salford in 2003 as part of the British Association 's Festival of Science. It was also debunked in one of the earlier episodes of the popular Discovery Channel television show MythBusters . Ducks have many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for predatory birds but also for large fish like pike , crocodilians , predatory testudines such as
810-493: The alligator snapping turtle , and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons . Ducks' nests are raided by land-based predators, and brooding females may be caught unaware on the nest by mammals, such as foxes , or large birds, such as hawks or owls . Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators including big fish such as the North American muskie and
855-730: The dabbling ducks ; their legs tend to be placed further back on their bodies to help propel them when underwater. Three genera are included in the Aythyini. The marbled duck which makes up the monotypic genus Marmaronetta , however, seems very distinct and might have diverged prior to the split of dabbling and diving ducks as indicated by morphological and molecular characteristics. The probably extinct pink-headed duck , previously treated separately in Rhodonessa , has been suggested to belong into Netta , but this approach has been questioned. DNA sequence analyses have found it to be
900-418: The greater scaup becomes marine during the northern winter. They are strong fliers; their broad, blunt-tipped wings require faster wing-beats than those of many ducks and they take off with some difficulty. Northern species tend to be migratory ; southern species do not migrate though the hardhead travels long distances on an irregular basis in response to rainfall. Diving ducks do not walk as well on land as
945-418: The steamer ducks are either placed in the family Anserinae in the tribe Tachyerini or lumped with the shelducks in the tribe Tadorini. The perching ducks make up in the tribe Cairinini in the subfamily Anserinae in some classifications, while that tribe is eliminated in other classifications and its members assigned to the tribe Anatini. The torrent duck is generally included in the subfamily Anserinae in
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#1732782442712990-562: The European pike . In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few predators such as humans and the peregrine falcon , which uses its speed and strength to catch ducks. Humans have hunted ducks since prehistoric times. Excavations of middens in California dating to 7800 – 6400 BP have turned up bones of ducks, including at least one now-extinct flightless species. Ducks were captured in "significant numbers" by Holocene inhabitants of
1035-475: The bird's Russian common name. The breeding male is a rich, dark chestnut on the head, breast and flanks with contrasting pure white undertail coverts. In flight the white belly and underwing patch are visible. The females are duller and browner than the males. The male has a yellow eye and the females have a dark eye. The ferruginous duck prefers quite shallow fresh waterbodies with rich submerged and floating vegetation with dense stands of emergent vegetation on
1080-551: The breeding habitats of the species in Armenia into network of Emerald Sites protected by the Bern Convention. Diving duck See the text The diving ducks , commonly called pochards or scaups , are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae , the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese , and swans . The diving ducks are placed in
1125-635: The breeding sites or disrupt the timing of breeding particularly in populated areas, e.g. Western Europe. Ferruginous ducks are also threatened by hunting and large numbers are shot on passage in the autumn and in the wintering areas. Although protected in most European countries illegal and accidental hunting persists. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds ( AEWA ) applies. Among recent local initiatives it should be mentioned inclusion of
1170-535: The coat of arms of Lubāna ( Latvia ) and the coat of arms of Föglö ( Åland ). In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire , UK , finished a year-long LaughLab experiment, concluding that of all animals, ducks attract the most humor and silliness; he said, "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." The word "duck" may have become an inherently funny word in many languages, possibly because ducks are seen as silly in their looks or behavior. Of
1215-469: The diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly. A few specialized species such as the mergansers are adapted to catch and swallow large fish. The others have the characteristic wide flat bill adapted to dredging -type jobs such as pulling up waterweed, pulling worms and small molluscs out of mud, searching for insect larvae, and bulk jobs such as dredging out, holding, turning head first, and swallowing
1260-541: The diving ducks are placed as a subfamily Aythyinae in the family Anatidae which would encompass all duck-like birds except the whistling-ducks . The seaducks commonly found in coastal areas, such as the long-tailed duck (formerly known in the U.S. as oldsquaw), scoters , goldeneyes , mergansers , bufflehead and eiders , are also sometimes colloquially referred to in North America as diving ducks because they also feed by diving; their subfamily (Merginae)
1305-457: The earliest diverging member of the pochard group. The molecular analysis also suggests that the white-winged duck should be placed into a monotypic genus Asarcornis which is fairly close to Aythya and might belong into this subfamily. Duck See text Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae . Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese , which are members of
1350-536: The female. Female ducks have evolved to have a corkscrew shaped vagina to prevent rape. Ducks have a cosmopolitan distribution , and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Several species manage to live on subantarctic islands, including South Georgia and the Auckland Islands . Ducks have reached a number of isolated oceanic islands, including the Hawaiian Islands , Micronesia and
1395-402: The geese and swans. The body shape of diving ducks varies somewhat from this in being more rounded. The bill is usually broad and contains serrated pectens , which are particularly well defined in the filter-feeding species. In the case of some fishing species the bill is long and strongly serrated. The scaled legs are strong and well developed, and generally set far back on the body, more so in
Ferruginous duck - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-514: The highly aquatic species. The wings are very strong and are generally short and pointed, and the flight of ducks requires fast continuous strokes, requiring in turn strong wing muscles. Three species of steamer duck are almost flightless, however. Many species of duck are temporarily flightless while moulting ; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration . The drakes of northern species often have extravagant plumage , but that
1485-623: The lower Ohio River valley, suggesting they took advantage of the seasonal bounty provided by migrating waterfowl. Neolithic hunters in locations as far apart as the Caribbean, Scandinavia, Egypt, Switzerland, and China relied on ducks as a source of protein for some or all of the year. Archeological evidence shows that Māori people in New Zealand hunted the flightless Finsch's duck , possibly to extinction, though rat predation may also have contributed to its fate. A similar end awaited
1530-422: The male often curls his tail so that it dips into the water forming a triangular white patch of the undertail coverts. In areas where it is common it will form colonies at protected sites such as islands, often in association with gulls. Where scarce it nests singly, in dispersed and concealed sites. Eggs are laid from the end of April or early May in a nest which is sited on the ground close to water, or sometimes
1575-461: The many ducks in fiction , many are cartoon characters, such as Walt Disney 's Donald Duck , and Warner Bros. ' Daffy Duck . Howard the Duck started as a comic book character in 1973 and was made into a movie in 1986. The 1992 Disney film The Mighty Ducks , starring Emilio Estevez , chose the duck as the mascot for the fictional youth hockey team who are protagonists of the movie, based on
1620-470: The margins. In some areas it will use saline or brackish pools or wetlands. On passage and wintering will also frequent coastal waters, inland seas and large, open lagoons. The breeding range of the ferruginous duck is from Iberia and the Maghreb east to western Mongolia, south to Arabia, although in the west is now scarce and localised and locally extirpated in some countries. The duck winters throughout
1665-406: The monotypic tribe Merganettini, but is sometimes included in the tribe Tadornini. The pink-eared duck is sometimes included as a true duck either in the tribe Anatini or the tribe Malacorhynchini, and other times is included with the shelducks in the tribe Tadornini. The overall body plan of ducks is elongated and broad, and they are also relatively long-necked, albeit not as long-necked as
1710-709: The more sedentary species (like fast-river specialists) tend to have pair-bonds that last numerous years. Most duck species breed once a year, choosing to do so in favourable conditions ( spring /summer or wet seasons). Ducks also tend to make a nest before breeding, and, after hatching, lead their ducklings to water. Mother ducks are very caring and protective of their young, but may abandon some of their ducklings if they are physically stuck in an area they cannot get out of (such as nesting in an enclosed courtyard ) or are not prospering due to genetic defects or sickness brought about by hypothermia, starvation, or disease. Ducklings can also be orphaned by inconsistent late hatching where
1755-477: The relationships between various species. In most modern classifications, the so-called 'true ducks' belong to the subfamily Anatinae, which is further split into a varying number of tribes. The largest of these, the Anatini, contains the 'dabbling' or 'river' ducks – named for their method of feeding primarily at the surface of fresh water. The 'diving ducks', also named for their primary feeding method, make up
1800-544: The same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form taxon ; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species), since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds , and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes , gallinules and coots . The word duck comes from Old English dūce 'diver',
1845-419: The stocking of lakes with and accidental introduction of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella has caused reductions in plant and animal biomass available for the ducks to feed on. In addition, the increased threat of drought due to climate change may pose a threat to the species in the drier parts of its range. Increased disturbance by fishing boats and anglers among marginal vegetation could cause abandonment of
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1890-431: The surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. Along the edge of the bill, there is a comb-like structure called a pecten . This strains the water squirting from the side of the bill and traps any food. The pecten is also used to preen feathers and to hold slippery food items. Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater. To be able to submerge more easily,
1935-461: The tribe Aythyini. The 'sea ducks' of the tribe Mergini are diving ducks which specialise on fish and shellfish and spend a majority of their lives in saltwater. The tribe Oxyurini contains the 'stifftails', diving ducks notable for their small size and stiff, upright tails. A number of other species called ducks are not considered to be 'true ducks', and are typically placed in other subfamilies or tribes. The whistling ducks are assigned either to
1980-568: The varieties of domestic ducks are descended from the mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ), apart from the Muscovy duck ( Cairina moschata ). The Call duck is another example of a domestic duck breed. Its name comes from its original use established by hunters, as a decoy to attract wild mallards from the sky, into traps set for them on the ground. The call duck is the world's smallest domestic duck breed, as it weighs less than 1 kg (2.2 lb). Ducks appear on several coats of arms , including
2025-407: Was inherited from Proto-Indo-European ; cf. Latin anas "duck", Lithuanian ántis 'duck', Ancient Greek νῆσσα / νῆττα ( nēssa / nētta ) 'duck', and Sanskrit ātí 'water bird', among others. A duckling is a young duck in downy plumage or baby duck, but in the food trade a young domestic duck which has just reached adult size and bulk and its meat is still fully tender,
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