Josh Whitford offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: The Anatidae Bird Family: Better Known as "ducks" Author: Josh Whitford Category: Pets and Animals Word Count: 982 Keywords: Ducks, Animals, White Ducks Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
The duck is a mainly aquatic bird, meaning it spends a great deal of its time on the water. Its scientific classification goes as such: Animalia kingdom, Chordata phylum, Aves class, Anseriformes order, and Anatidae family. It is a member of the Dendrocygninae, Oxyurinae, Anatinae, Aythyinae, and Merginae subfamilies, but is still oftentimes confused with geese, swans, and loons. While it does bear some similarities to the aforementioned birds, but the duck is generally smaller and can be found in both fresh and salt water bodies. Normally the body of a duck is fairly extended and broad, with moderately long necks; however, this body build varies depending on the specific breed. For example, members of diving and sea ducks tend to have a more rounded body, better for breaking the water when diving for food, but their heavier bodies make them worse flyers. This individuality also pertains to bills; the members of fishing breeds have a long, thin bill instead of the shorter, broad bill of dabbling ducks, which eat a diet mainly of foods found on or near the surface of the water, because they have to dive deeper in the water to forage for their food. Also, dabbling ducks have lamellae, which are much like the baleen whales have, which help to sieve out small plant material and other planktonic matter for digestion. The diet of different types of ducks varies from grasses and other aquatic plants to fish, insects, small amphibians, worms, small mollusks, and other water invertebrates. There are even some types of ducks, such as the goosander, which have serrated edges on their bills that help them hold onto larger prey. Regardless of breed, the legs of a duck are very strong and scaled, and are generally placed further back on the body. Their wings are very short and muscular, with end feathers that come to a point. This aids the bird in flight because the wing stroke of the duck is short and fast, requiring a high degree of developed muscle tissue. On the other hand, the three species of flightless steamer ducks have wings that are mostly for show, and breeds in between can't fly when they are moulting because their flight feathers are missing. Different breeds of ducks choose their mates differently. Most of the smaller breeds choose one mate per season, while the larger, more inactive breeds keep their same mate for many consecutive seasons. Regardless of the length of time spent with the same mate, almost all of the duck species breed only once a year. The hen lays her eggs one or two at a time until she has a full clutch, generally 8 to 16 eggs, and then settles in to incubate them. Once she is steadily sitting on them, they take 28 days to hatch. Soon after the young ones have hatched, mother will lead them to water and teach them to swim and eventually eat on their own. The drake has no part of their upbringing. Now that all of the scientific stuff is out of the way, here's some fun stuff about ducks: "Duck" is a strange word; it comes from Old English and, even back then, meant to bend down low or dive, so it's only a natural progression that we call these birds that quickly stick their heads underwater and briefly dive below the surface to catch food "ducks". The animal keeps the name "duck" in many languages; the German word for "duck" is "Ente", while the Dutch word for "duck" is "eend". Even the Ancient Greeks called ducks "ducks". There are many other adjectives to describe different kinds of ducks. For instance, many refer only to adult females as "ducks" and adult males as "drakes"; others prefer "hen" for the females and "drake" for the males, and a youngin' is a "duckling". Then again, those in the business of providing ducks for human consumption refer to young adults that are ready to be roasted as "ducklings". Go figure. There are even cultural references to the duck. Psychologist Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK conducted a year-long experiment called "Laugh Lab" which found that out of all animals, people found ducks the funniest. Wiseman said of his experiment, "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." Could this have anything to do with the humorous cartoon characters Daffy Duck or Donald Duck? Which came first, finding ducks funny or making funny ducks? Ducks even have their own reasoning process. The infamous "duck test" is a type of inductive reasoning, usually generalized by the reference "If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck". The basis for this reasoning is that by using schematic knowledge when confronted with an unknown object, one can figure out what the unknown object is based on what they can see. There are even domestic waterfowl (duck) shows. Breeders and owners can take their birds to gatherings and compete to see who has the most striking specimen. According to Indian Runner Duck Association, the areas judged upon are as follows: Head and Neck. -Head: Fine and comparatively flat. Bill: Strong at the base, broad and long, coming as nearly as possible straight down from the skull, giving it the appearance of a long wedge. Eye: Situated high in the head. Neck: As long and thin as possible from base. Body. -Body: Long and narrow, without any indication of keel. Breast: Round and full. Back : Long and narrow. Wings: Carried close. Tail. -Slightly elevated, with two or three well-curled feathers in that of the drake. Legs and Feet. -Legs: Set well back, causing the erect carriage of body. Toes: Straight, connected by the web. General Shape and Carriage. -Racy-looking, the body carried erect somewhat after the form of a Penguin. Size and Weight. -Drake, 4 1/2 lbs. duck, 4 lbs. Wow -who knew that one bird could be so many things? http://www.metzerfarms.com Fred Kessel is a licensed veterinary technician at a hatchery that sells white ducks, chickens, and geese. His love for water fowl has lead him to be an avid duck hunter and wildlife refuge protector. ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
