| Photo Information |
| Copyright: shama mass (shama) (28) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-12-26 |
| Categories: Pets |
| Exposure: f/5.6, 1/60 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2009-03-07 4:28 |
| Viewed: 172 |
| Points: 2 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Duck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, being the Anatidae not considered swans and geese. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Feeding
Lamellae along the beak.Ducks exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians[3], worms, and small molluscs.
Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly.
Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. [4] Along the inside of the beak they have tiny rows of plates called lamellae like a whale's baleen. These let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside.
A few specialized species such as the smew, goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch and swallow large fish.
Communication
Despite widespread misconceptions, only the females of most dabbling ducks "quack". For example, the scaup – which are diving ducks – make a noise like "scaup" (hence their name), and even among the dabbling ducks, the males never quack. In general, ducks make a wide range of calls, ranging from whistles cooing, yodels and grunts. 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 shown to be false. This myth was first debunked by the Acoustics Research Centre at the University of Salford in 2003 as part of the British Association's Festival of Science.[5] It was also debunked in one of the earlier episodes of the popular Discovery Channel television show MythBusters. |
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