What They Look Like
Ducks are generally smaller and more compact than their relatives the geese and swans, with short necks, broad bodies, and relatively short legs set far back on the body. Male ducks, called drakes, are often much more colorful than females, especially during the breeding season. The male mallard, for example, sports a glossy green head, a white neck ring, and a chestnut-brown chest, while the female wears mottled brown plumage that helps her stay hidden while sitting on a nest. Most ducks have flat, wide bills and webbed feet that make them powerful swimmers. Depending on the species, ducks can range from the tiny green-winged teal, weighing about 340 grams (12 ounces), to the common eider, which can weigh over 2.5 kilograms (about 6 pounds).
Waterproof Feathers
One of the most impressive things about ducks is that their feathers are almost completely waterproof, allowing them to swim for hours without getting soaked. Ducks achieve this through a behavior called preening, in which they use their bills to spread oil from a special gland near the base of their tail, called the uropygial gland or preen gland. This oil coats each feather and causes water to bead up and roll right off, much like raindrops on a waxed car. Beneath their outer feathers, ducks also have a thick layer of soft, fluffy down feathers that trap warm air against their skin and provide excellent insulation. This combination of oily outer feathers and insulating down is so effective that ducks can swim comfortably in near-freezing water without losing much body heat.
Bill and Filter Feeding
A duck’s bill might look like a simple flat scoop, but it is actually a highly sensitive and specialized tool. The edges of most duck bills are lined with thin, comb-like structures called lamellae, which work like a strainer to filter food out of water and mud. A duck will take a mouthful of muddy water and push it out through the lamellae with its tongue, trapping tiny plants, insects, seeds, and crustaceans inside. The bill itself is packed with nerve endings and is surprisingly sensitive to touch, allowing ducks to feel for food in murky water where they cannot see. Different species have bills adapted to their particular diets, from the broad, flat bill of a mallard that scoops up pond weeds to the narrow, serrated bill of a merganser built for gripping slippery fish.
Where They Live
Ducks are found in an enormous range of habitats wherever there is water. They live along rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, estuaries, and coastlines around the world. Some species, like the wood duck, prefer wooded swamps and nest inside tree cavities high above the ground. Others, like the eider, spend most of their lives on the open ocean, coming to shore only to breed. Many duck species are migratory, flying south to warmer regions when winter freezes their northern breeding grounds. The northern pintail holds one of the longest migration records among ducks, traveling up to 6,000 kilometers (about 3,700 miles) between its breeding grounds in Alaska and its wintering areas in Hawaii.
Dabbling and Diving
Not all ducks feed the same way, and scientists divide them into two main groups based on how they eat. Dabbling ducks, such as mallards, teals, and pintails, feed at the surface or tip forward with their tails sticking straight up in the air to reach plants and invertebrates just below the waterline. They prefer shallow ponds and marshes and can launch themselves directly into the air from the water’s surface. Diving ducks, on the other hand, plunge completely beneath the surface and swim underwater using their powerful feet to chase prey. Species like the canvasback, scaup, and ring-necked duck can dive several meters deep and stay underwater for up to a minute. You may have heard the popular claim that a duck’s quack does not produce an echo, but scientists have tested this and proven it false; a duck’s quack echoes just like any other sound, though the echo can be hard to hear because it fades quickly.
Ducklings and Family Life
Most ducks nest on the ground near water, lining a shallow scrape in the soil with soft down feathers plucked from the mother’s own breast. A female duck typically lays between 8 and 13 eggs and incubates them for about 28 days, rarely leaving the nest during this time. Ducklings are precocial, meaning they hatch covered in down, with their eyes open and the ability to walk and swim within hours of emerging from the egg. The mother leads her brood to water soon after hatching, and the tiny ducklings instinctively follow her in a line, imprinting on her voice and appearance. Unlike songbirds, duck parents do not bring food to their young; instead, ducklings feed themselves from the very first day, snapping up insects and tiny aquatic creatures while their mother watches for danger.
Ducks and People
Humans have kept ducks for at least 4,000 years, and nearly all domestic duck breeds descend from the wild mallard, with the exception of the Muscovy duck, which was domesticated separately in South America. Today, domestic breeds like the Pekin and Khaki Campbell are raised worldwide for their eggs and meat, and some Khaki Campbell hens can lay over 300 eggs per year. Duck down feathers are prized for stuffing pillows, comforters, and winter jackets because of their outstanding warmth and lightness. Beyond farming, ducks hold an important place in human culture, appearing in stories, cartoons, and artwork from ancient Egyptian paintings to modern animated films. In the wild, ducks also play a vital ecological role, spreading plant seeds between wetlands, controlling insect populations, and serving as an important food source for predators like foxes, hawks, and alligators.
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