Duck

Quick Take

• Not every duck makes the sound you'd expect, and the reason behind their calls reveals something surprising about how they communicate danger. Discover their varied sounds →
• Ducks can stand on ice without freezing their feet, thanks to a biological trick that most people have never heard of. See the warm-feet trick →
• A duckling goes from cracking its shell to swimming in open water faster than you'd ever guess. Follow duckling development →
• Nearly every domestic duck alive today traces back to a single wild species, with one major exception that proves the rule. Trace domestic duck origins →

Ducks are omnivorous, eating plants, insects, small fish, seeds, and crustaceans. Ducks are birds known as waterfowl because they live near ponds, rivers, and lakes.

This animal lives on every continent except Antarctica. Some of them live in freshwater habitats, while others live in saltwater. They have an average lifespan of 5 to 10 years in the wild, though some species have been recorded living well beyond 20 years.

5 Incredible Duck Facts

• All types of ducks have waterproof feathers.
• A unique system of blood vessels keeps their feet warm in icy weather.
• Not all ducks make a quacking sound.
• These birds can turn their heads backward to clean, or preen, their feathers.
• Male ducks have more colorful feathers than females.

Classification and Scientific Name

Ducks are members of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and swans, and are distributed across multiple subfamilies, with Anatinae being the primary duck subfamily. Rather than referring to a single taxonomic group, “duck” is a common name covering several genera — such as Anas, Aythya, and Mergus — that differ in habitat, diet, and behaviour. Compared to geese and swans, ducks are usually smaller, with shorter necks and a more rounded body shape. This means some birds called “ducks” are more closely related to non-duck waterfowl than they are to other ducks.

Common Types of Ducks

• Mallard: The mallard is a type of dabbling duck, meaning it feeds at the surface. Their populations range from temperate and subtropical regions of North America to Eurasia and North Africa.
• Wood Duck: The wood duck is a type of perching duck, meaning it often perches high up in trees. These ducks are native to North America, and southern populations don’t migrate like their northern counterparts.
• Canvasback: The canvasback is a type of diving duck, meaning it feeds by diving below the surface of the water. These ducks are commonly found in North America and prefer to nest in prairie marshes surrounded by emergent vegetation.
• King Eider: The king eider is a large sea duck that breeds along the arctic coasts of northeastern Europe, North America, and Asia. The oldest known banded king eider lived to be 24 years old.

Appearance and Behavior

When it comes to a duck’s feathers, males, also called drakes, are more colorful than females. A drake’s feathers may be bright green, purple, silver, or blue. Alternatively, females, also called hens, are usually brown or grayish in color.

The exact coloration depends on the species. As an example, a male Cayuga duck has iridescent green feathers. A female Cayuga has some iridescent green plumage, but it’s less apparent. They both have black bills. This duck is named after the Cayuga people or the Cayuga region of New York, where it was introduced in the Finger Lakes area around 1840.

These birds have webbed feet that help them to swim in lakes, streams, and ponds. In addition, ducks have a long, flat bill used to scoop up insects, vegetation, or other food items.

Look closely at a duck’s bill, and you’ll see lamellae on the sides. Lamellae are the serrated edges of a duck’s bill that help it filter sand and mud while dipping its bill in the water in search of food.

Looking at the shape of a bird’s bill can help you determine what type of food it eats. Species with a flat bill are likely to eat an abundance of vegetation such as algae and grass. Alternatively, a bird with a more pointed or sharper bill is likely to eat fish and other small sea life.

Have you ever noticed the small bump on the end of a duck’s bill? That’s called a nail. It’s there to help a duck dig in the mud for insects, vegetation, or other food.

The size of a duck depends on its species. Generally, they range from 20 to 26 inches long and weigh from 1.6 to 3.5 pounds.

The Muscovy duck is the biggest species living in North America. Males grow to be around 30 to 33 inches long and weigh about 6.6 to 8.8 pounds.

These birds have a few ways to protect themselves from predators. A wild duck with the ability to fly may be able to escape a predator by taking off into the air. A female bird with dull-colored feathers may be able to hide in tall weeds or other vegetation near a body of water. They are fast swimmers, which may help them to escape a threat.

These birds are social creatures and feel safer in a group. A group of ducks may be referred to as a team or a raft. Of course, they can also be called a flock. A flock could contain ten birds or dozens, depending on the population in the region.

These birds use their call, whether it’s quacking or other sounds, to alert others of a predator nearby. Wild ducks are generally shy and tend to avoid people.

Evolution and Origins of Ducks

One common theory is that ducks evolved to their current small size to enable them to feed on small particles in the water. For this reason, ducks evolved a wider bill that helps them eat smaller bits of food. There are more species of duck than geese or swans, suggesting the wider-bill adaptation was evolutionarily successful.

With that said, almost all varieties of domestic ducks come from the mallard. This, however, excludes the Muscovy Duck.

Habitat

These birds live throughout the world except in Antarctica. Some species live in the tropics, while others live in temperate climates. They live near rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams. They sometimes sleep in a nest made of tall grass near a body of water. Other times, they sleep while actually floating on the water.

Some species in northern regions of North America migrate in the fall because food becomes scarce at that time of year. These birds may migrate to a warm area in the southern part of the United States or further on to Mexico. Some species go to central California for the winter.

The change of daylight in the springtime serves as a signal for ducks to fly north again.

Diet

What do ducks eat?

These birds eat insects, fruit, seeds, algae, small fish, and crustaceans.

These birds are omnivores. They eat the food source that is most abundant in their habitat.

Have you ever seen a duck’s rear end sticking up out of the water? This happens when a dabbling duck tips its head underwater to filter through the sandy bottom of a creek or pond looking for food.

Other types of ducks dive beneath the surface for food, while others find prey floating on the surface.

Predators and Threats

These birds face the environmental threat of loss of habitat. Wetlands are affected by pollution. In addition, some species are hunted by humans for food or sport. The avian flu is a disease that can travel quickly through a duck population.

The conservation status of the Anas platyrhynchos is listed as Least Concern with an increasing population.

What eats ducks?

Adult ducks can fall prey to a variety of predators, including possums, peregrine falcons, coyotes, hawks, snakes, and raccoons.

Baby birds, or ducklings, fall victim to many predators as well. They are sometimes eaten by large fish such as pike or bass. Snapping turtles, crocodiles, and herons also eat ducklings.

Duck Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

These birds begin to choose their mates in the month of December. A female chooses a male out of a large group. She looks for a mate with beautiful, healthy plumage. Some of the courtship rituals include bobbing heads, making whistling sounds, and swimming around one another.

Drakes call to females and make sounds trying to get as much attention as possible. This is a noisy time for ducks. Males and females pair up for one season but find a different mate the next breeding season. This is called seasonal monogamy.

The female builds a nest made of sticks, grass, and feathers near a pond or lake. The incubation period of these birds is 28 days. Incidentally, the incubation period is the same for Canada geese. They lay eggs starting in mid-March through the end of July. There are usually 8 to 12 eggs in a clutch. Duck eggs are fairly large, weighing about two and a half ounces. After the eggs are laid, the male doesn’t contribute to their care.

It takes about 24 hours for all of the eggs in a clutch to hatch. Baby ducks are called ducklings. Immediately after hatching, a duckling’s feathers begin to dry, and it starts wiggling its legs. About ten hours later, the mother directs her babies out of the nest and leads them to the water.

The ducklings stay with their mother as they learn how to swim and how to find food in the water. She protects them from other ducks and keeps them warm on cold evenings. At 50 to 60 days old, the ducklings can fly and live independently.

These birds become sexually mature at one year old. They have a lifespan of 5 to 10 years. The record for the oldest duck is 29 years old.

These birds are vulnerable to illnesses such as duck virus hepatitis, aspergillosis, and colibacillosis.

Population

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the latest estimated population of the mallard (scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos) is approximately 19,000,000 worldwide. An estimated 5,700,000 to 9,220,000 of these birds live in Europe.

Its conservation status is Least Concern with an increasing population.

Ducks in the Zoo

• Check out the collection of baby and adult ducks at the Cincinnati Zoo
• Discover the duck exhibit at the Saint Louis Zoo
• Admire the ducks at Lincoln Park Zoo