Talk:Duck/Archive 1

Misc. info
Would anyone like to add information about the migration of ducks?

Just a few potential sources from Google. I may use these later if no-one else does.

Also, mighn't it be better if the enlarged picture were a close up of the duck? I suppose a picture of the environment is informative, but it wasn't what I expected. What's the policy on multiple pictures?
 * http://www.thecontentwell.com/Fish_Game/Ducks/Duck_migration.html
 * http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2002/11/fieldwork.html
 * http://www.ibiblio.org/pardo/birds/archive/archive2/msg00397.html
 * http://www.ducks.org/waterfowling/flyways.asp
 * http://www.gamehuntersguide.com/Encyclopedia/Animals/Birds/Diving%20ducks/Tufted%20duck.htm (good for foreign names)
 * http://seaducks.org/subjects/MIGRATION%20AND%20FLIGHT.htm (useful looking abstracts)
 * (http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/wildlife/duckf.asp)
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/nature_20030616.shtml (ruddy ducks' impact on white headed ducks)

MrJones 08:48, 18 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Donald
What breed is he?
 * Which seems to mean that there have been so many silly cartoon duck characters, that many people cannot take ducks seriously. There would not be so much sillyness if someone genetic-engineered ducks to grow this big! Anthony Appleyard 17:37, 25 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Why does the idea of ducks make people so silly? Most of the edits to this page seem to be vandalism and reverts for vandalism. As regards Donald Duck, the sooner a hawk gets him, the better. I get weary of that quaquaversal duck and his quaquaversal quack. Anthony Appleyard 16:26, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Re: Donald

Donald duck is a pekin duck. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.93.125.109 (talk) 02:41, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Rape
I think it's very interesting that Ducks are the only other animal aside from humans who practice rape/necrophilia. I'm going to research this a little and add a section on it. Themindset 16:30, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Orangutans. don't forget orangutans. pauli 12:34, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * They're pretty hard to forget! I'm also not sure if Tom Green falls into the orangutan family or is his own category.
 * Given that the research re: necrophilia won a 'prize' that parodies genuine scientific research (the Ig Nobel Prize) the factual accuracy of that section is questionable.
 * Though the Ig Nobel prize does parody the Nobel prize, it is given for proper scientific research, and definitely doesn't detract from the trustworthiness of the research it is given for. --W(t) 2024-July-29
 * Even if true, it applies to only one species, the Mallard, and is inappropriate in an article that describes the groupa as a whole, so I've removed it. Also, a more grown up way of dealing with this would be under the heading "breeding behaviour" rather than the tabloid "rape and necrophilia". jimfbleak 06:02, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I have cleaned up the section and renamed it "Breeding Behaviour" please do not unilaterally remove it without discussion. Themindset 17:43, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Even if true, it applies to only one species, the Mallard, and is inappropriate in an article that describes the groupa as a whole. Why not move it there, since it is not typical of ducks as a group. I still don't think it's apprpriate for this page. jimfbleak 18:42, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I strongly support the removal of this very Mallard-specific material to Mallard, and have done so - Adrian Pingstone 20:09, 9 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I actually agree with the switch to the Mallard article. Good job. Themindset 17:35, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I doubt that Humans and Mallards are the ONLY species that practice rape/necrophilia. I think dolphins are known to have raped, for instance, and I think I have read somewhere that rabbits sometimes try to mate with ran over rabbits on the streets, etc, i.e. it is actually relatively common behavior...
 * Most animals would almost certainly try to mate with dead ones, considering that most would not be able to tell the difference in smell for several hours at least. As for rape, animal matings are not especially consensual a lot of the time. Rape is a human idea, it does not apply to other animals. I would also like to point out that this "proof" only shows one instance of this.Kombucha 09:32, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

Penis
Isn't the duck one of only 2 birds with a penis, and a freakishly long one at that?

This article needs improvement
Has none noticed that the sections in the article are either a single paragraph or a single line or just links to other articles or fictional ducks. where is the real stuff on ducks. the intro is bigger than the whole contents of the article put together. this needs to be redone and the intro is to be kept short and the article must be expanded accordingly. the breeding part has to be improved. so I have nominated this duck article for cleanup and adding more information. Please feel free to do so cuz i'm not an expert on ducks.--Idleguy 08:49, May 27, 2005 (UTC)
 * The links removed referred to items that have gone to another article, the eider down bit belongs, and is repeated, at Common Eider, and the breeding biology comments are dubious and unsourced. jimfbleak 05:21, 28 May 2005 (UTC)
 * I've now made further edits to try to streamline this article a bit. What is "the real stuff on ducks". An article about a large group of very varied birds is bound to be fairly general, since their nesting, food etc vary so much.jimfbleak 05:57, 28 May 2005 (UTC)
 * OK. But in the gallery, the third photo is showing as blank. the links is wrong, so if you know the correct spelling of that image, please correct it. --Idleguy 11:25, May 28, 2005 (UTC)

I AGREE! I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.... CAN DUCKS LAND IN TREES?
sherizzle@hotmail.com - if anyone wants to let me know thankyou so much!

(not one person has been able to answer this question! i would think not since their feet are not capable,  but I would like to know for sure,

I know they can land in holes in trees because they nest in tree cavities. earlier this afternoon I saw some baby ducks jumping out of the nest hole in the tree. it was amazing! Michael1115 (talk) 23:46, 27 March 2008 (UTC) ~

this article made me laugh
Just wanted to comment. I suddenly found it hilarious, because the presence of the scientific classifications together with the WikiBooks mention of 'there is a cookbook for: "duck"' was absolutely hilarious, although I am sure it wasn't intended that way. -- Natalinasmpf 17:38, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC) Do we have more details on surface duck? diving ducks?
 * Yea I found that on chicken as well.


 * The idea of a duck cookbook possibly made you laugh because of the inherent funniness of the sounds involved... --BlueNight 23:12, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

It was so funny I burst out laughing! --Jdwrules 17:39, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Aflac duck
Are you sure the Aflac duck isn't a goose?
 * positive UberVash 02:15, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Sure looks like a duck. --Evice 02:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Well you know what they say.. if it looks like a duck and it quacks like Gilbert Gottfried, it's a goose.

Seriously though those domestic geese look just like big fat ducks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.21.221 (talk) 03:56, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Feet
Considering that some children's television shows are claiming (I don't know the actual truth of the claim) that ducks do not have nerves or blood vessels in their feet, it may be a good idea to elaborate on this with some information on how their feet operate if this is true. I don't know of the factuality of this, but think it is interesting and should be included if it is true. Jon Thompson 16:07, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I have a pet peking duck and in the right light you can clearly see the blood vessels in her feet especially in the webbed part. She was also attacked by a dog a few months ago and had an injury to her hind toe, she spent the next few days in what looked like pain. On top of that, there's the whole how do they move their feet with no blood or nerves, but anyway... --trolleymusic 10:11, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I raised Swedish Buff Ducks and they would sometimes twist their feet and ankles in little mudholes they made. They limped and favoured the other foot. I was taught to wrap their feet every day in gauze that had been thoroughly soaked in Epsom Salts to take away the pain in the foot and help support the leg and foot while it healed. This technique came from many separate books about raising ducks.OWA--I was born in the Summer of Love when we took a trip and stepped on the moon 18:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Gallery
I sort of got the idea that the gallery was showing the different sexes and a few different species of duck, I've just added a photo of an infant/baby Peking duck trolleymusic 10:22, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Well apparently my contribution was not welcome - could you tell me what the purpose of the Gallery is then Jimfbleak please. trolleymusic 20:47, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Duplicate content
The "fictional ducks" section has no place here, and would be best moved to list of fictional ducks. --Shantavira 15:58, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I removed the recent addition about aggression between males, may be true for eg Mallards, but certainly not for most duck species. jimfbleak 05:19, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Questions and Myths
I have a several questions regarding ducks (bare with me); as I have a few in my backyard, which consists of a public lake. I've read that Pekin ducks are bred to not sit on the eggs that they lay; meaning, once they are laid, the Pekin ducks will forget it ever happened; and the ducks will never hatch. One day, I found a duck in my backyard; and took the initiative to try and hatc hit myself, as I thought the Pekin duck left it there and forgot about it. Unfortunately, I didn't do a good job, but that's another story. Later on, I saw the same female Pekin duck (I know it's the same one, because there is only one female pekin in our lake -- these ones decided not to migrate, probably because we've all been feeding it) with a set of bright yellow pekin babies! So that's a two part question; why would the Pekin duck lay it's eggs in different places (1 in my backyard; and several others in another)? Also, I thought Pekin won't hatch their own eggs to begin with? Than why are there baby Pekin ducks swimming around?? I'm frustrated because I thought the pekin eggs won't hatch, and because of that, I may have prevented one more baby from hatching, just because some duck-enthusiasts got their facts wrong! Also; last year, I've noticed that all the Pekin babies died (yes, I just remembered there being babies hatched LAST year as well); but it was in the winter. Now, it's spring; so I was wondering if I should catch the Pekin babies and feed them myself so they won't die; or should I give them a chance, since it's Spring, and not Winter? It's also important to note that these ducks won't hibernate -- they stay in my backyard lake the whole year. Which is another question; is it my fault that these group of ducks (there are a few other ducks in this "pack") don't migrate, maybe because I've been feeding them bread? Another question is; could I feed cat food or dog food to the ducks; as long as the dry-food is small enough for the ducks to take? Also, what do I feed the baby-pekin ducks? ANother question I have is whether or not coins are poisonous to ducks. I've read somewhere that pennies or any other coins will kill a duck, if swallowed. I know a friend who raises ducks, and says that personally, her ducks have swallowed many of her own coins (her kid was feeding coins to the ducks for fun); and none of them have died from the coins. Another misinformation from these so called "duck experts"? Also, is there any possible way to encourage migration back into the ducks? I don't like the thought of the ducks being stuck here and left to die because of my bad habits. If not, what should I feed the ducks? I've read they need a diet high in protein; yet, I've noticed they survive on their own, possibly eating the algae and seawead around the lake. If that's true; why are we supposed to feed ducks a high protein diet, if their natural food is seawead (or algae)? Or is it because I CAUSED them to stay here; and now they are forced to eat low-protein food (in other words, they're surviving on whatever they can find)? Last question I have, and it's kind of unrelated, what is the breed of duck typically used for the PekinG duck dish (is it named after the Pekin breed?) Don't worry; I don't plan on making a dish out of the ducks from the lake. 20:11, 4 May 2006 User:67.164.209.137
 * Well for one, Pekin ducks have been bred to have too much body mass for flight, so migration was out of the question whether you fed them or not. I'm not sure whether coins are poison to ducks, though they obviously aren't good for them. Same with the dog and cat food, I'd recommend you feed them some generic poultry feed. 15:11, 16 May 2006 User:RentACop

Duck should be semiprotected, and stay like that.

 * See this old edit (warning, obscene word there). Duck keeps on attracting vandals. It should be semiprotected, and keep it like that. Anthony Appleyard 04:37, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
 * What's the fascination with vandalizing this article?--Alexrules43 01:25, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Ducks have a silly public image. Anthony Appleyard 09:40, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
 * In reviewing the edit history for this page it does not seem that the amount of vandalism warrants constant semi-protection. Many other articles suffer much more frequent vandalism and are simply reverted. The WP:Semiprotection policy is worth reading for all those who are interested. -- No Guru 19:52, 5 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Who says that quacks echo...has it been proven?? where is the source, also I request unprotection for this page
 * Geez, the history of this article makes amusing reading. Poor bird, why is it such a source of giggles to the immature? Peter1968 06:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Most edits to duck seem to be vandalism and reverts for vandalism. Anthony Appleyard 07:07, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Duck is an inherently funny word. It's even funnier to see it with semi-protection enabled.68.218.8.145 01:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
 * This whole inherently funny word idea is a fiction, or at least an exaggeration. Only someone who finds a saltshaker being tipped over hilarious could find any humour in the word "duck" — "Look at the ducks. Hahahahaha. I said 'duck'." I can understand why people laugh at the name Wankel Engine, but not duck. Is this a mystery akin to why would anyone watch anything so inane as Funniest Home Videos and laugh? I suspect it is. Rintrah 09:00, 14 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Regardless of why, the page duck keeps getting vandalized, and so needs to be semiprotected. For a long time at least 75% of edits to duck have been vandalism and reverts. Anthony Appleyard 10:49, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
 * It is a highly vandalised page but there are lots of us watching it so hopefully it gets caught quickly. Sophia  21:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I too am baffled by why this article would attract excessive vandalism. However, is semi-protection really still necessary? ~ Homologeo (talk) 05:20, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

More on What Ducks Eat/Food Sources and the Quack/Echo Myth
I'd like to see a bit about that on the page. Oh and to answer the question re: "Do Quacks Echo?" It has been proven by the popular TV Show Mythbusters that there is indeed an echo. I don't know how you'd cite that unless it's on their home page and such. OneWomanArmy

I think that BBC Radio 4's Home Truths programme may also have done this. I'm afraid I can't reference that either. 129.234.4.76 16:08, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't have to be on the web in order to cite. Have added a reference. Swamp Ig 07:34, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

duck bills
Can someone please provide a source to the claim that ducks have bills?Yeago 19:16, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Common knowledge? :\ 142.68.113.199 (talk) 19:11, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

duck dander-acid
I have not been able to find any support to confirm that duck dander has any hallucinogenic properties. Any suggestions?

Imprinting
I think it would be relevant to mention that ducks (along with geese and such) can be imprinted by humans, as famously demonstrated by the ethnographer Lorenz.

Fishystick 19:02, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

More Pictures?
I have taken a great digital photograph of a duck in Sydney, Australia. Not sure exactly what kind it is. Happy to e-mail it to someone to post up, as I'm not sure what to do. Matthew 1130 12:45, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I'd upload it and post it to the science reference desk for identification, if it's any good, put in the article. - O bli (Talk) ? 13:23, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Trivia
Just an idea, but the Trivia section is a bit awkward grammatically. It could be edited from this:

"Some Ancient Egyptian wall pictures show that (some of) the ships of the Sea Peoples had ornamental prows shaped like a duck's head."

to something less awkward like:

Ancient Egyptian art depicts some ships of the Sea Peoples with ornamental prows shaped like a duck's head.

A minor change, but I thought I'd mention it. Also, I don't have any, but I'm sure there's more trivia about ducks than just one trivia fact.

24.166.33.105 22:55, 4 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Item changed to:
 * Some ancient Egyptian art depicts some ships of the Sea Peoples with ornamental prows shaped like a duck's head.
 * EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 02:23, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Quack
What sound do ducks other than female mallards and domestic ducks make, if - as the article claims - they don't quack? I was under the (apparently wrong, I see now, having done some research) impression that any sound made by a duck was by definition a quack. It would be nice to have some info as to what sounds are made by the majority of wild ducks. Applejuicefool 14:57, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Well the females in the genus Anas generally have a quack of some variation but the males mostly make chirps and whistles The Great White Hunter 01:33, 25 March 2007 (UTC)Mike_Winters

Also, a ducks quack does not echo. I can't find sources, but i remember a college biology professor talking about it. Can anyone confirm this?

Duck test for computers

 * The addition of "or as a test in the operational framework of end-user computing" was not 'silly' at all. In a sense, this usage comes from 'behavioral' analysis of an entity (virtual or otherwise) in an attempt to know what it is or whether it is what it 'claims' (not unlike, by the way, the current 'wiki' problem of identifying Sock puppets). Now, one can even argue several philosophical points (see Operational definition). But, it's really in 'computing' where entities emerge (evolve) that are not 'covered' by theory or some known 'meta' view where this idea has taken hold.


 * A cynic might posit that the bad guys that are effective figure out how to minimally pass the 'duck tests' that we all apply daily in order to protest ourselves. Hence, we could even apply game theory in this context.


 * One might ask, why pick on ducks? Well, that's a good question. However, given that the duck is the honoree, we can then put our minds to helping firm up the Duck test after, of course, establishing the necessity of the thing. There are other metaphors: finding the wizard behind the curtain, ... Personally, I prefer that of the 'duck' where we'll put a strong Bayesian framework around this test.


 * About the necessity, in computing and even in the open-source environment, we get things that are not self-created and that would require inordinate effort to 'prove' in entirety. The 'duck test' may be a lazy way to cope; however, it can be effective (albeit, in a multiple-worlds sense where many hypotheses are followed concurrently). Even source that is open to purview, compile and test, still encapsulates domain knowledge that may be 'opaque' (not from any malevolent intent, rather just due to complexity of the knowledge that is condensed in the ideas that are embedded therein or due to the fact that no-one is expert in everything recognizing, of course, that we still want to try). jmswtlk 13:07, 21 March 2007 (UTC)


 * OK, sorry. But when you restore the deleted text, please in the text explain fully the connection between ducks and the test. Anthony Appleyard 13:55, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

What is this duck/goose?
I am having trouble identifying this duck/goose (not the mallards), could anyone help? See the pictures. It is larger than a mallard, and this is especially apparant on land. In the water they look only slightly bigger than mallards though. There are about 4 of them, and all are coloured differently to each other. I'm thinking: a cross? The pictures were taken in North-East England. Logoistic 17:04, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

their domestic duck/mallard hybrids The Great White Hunter 18:55, 26 March 2007 (UTC) mike_Winters


 * Thank you! Logoistic 15:32, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Baby Duck?

 * What is the name of a baby duck? Is it chick? I didn't read the article but I did a quick ctrl-f (find) for baby and couldn't find anything. --CyclePat2 04:30, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
 * It is a duckling. Anthony Appleyard 05:15, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Thank you Anthony. --CyclePat2 05:16, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Lame Duck
I find this article incomplete because it lacks mention of actual lame ducks. I have one currently in my care, an was looking for methods in which to treat it, but have found nothing. This could be an invaluable resource, so I urge research on the topic. --CmdrClow 01:21, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

are baby ducks cute?
I think they are but what do you think?

88.97.21.36 17:26, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Indeed, most people agree that ducklings are cute.

ZBrisk (talk) 08:56, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

What the?!
Why was this protected? Because it "has reached [some stage]"?! It's far from featured, and even such articels aren't protected out of hand. 68.39.174.238 (talk) 21:00, 10 January 2008 (UTC)