In our article, we want to talk about representatives of the duck family, which are the largest group among waterfowl. They were the first to be domesticated by man in antiquity. Their importance in agriculture is great to this day.
Ducks in our life
The Duck family has more than 150 species, which, in turn, are divided into forty genera. The predecessors of these birds lived on earth in antiquity. There are many confirmations of this. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a bird (the ancestor of the modern duck), whose age is about 50 million years.
Representatives of the family still play an important role in our lives, as they are kept in households for receiving fluff, eggs and meat. Not the best way affects the number of feathered industrial hunting.
Family Description
The Duck family is not only numerous, but also quite diverse. Representatives of the family significantly differ from each other not only in size, but also in color. For example, the weight of birds ranges from 250 grams (dwarf African goose) and up to twenty kilograms (mute swan). Representatives of the family have a characteristic, dense plumage covered with waterproof grease. This is because the waterfowl of the duck family is almost always found in the water.
Birds have a characteristic long and flexible neck, a flattened and wide beak, a streamlined body with a large supply of subcutaneous fat. And their legs are short, widely spaced, with toes connected by membranes. All birds of the family are able to move on land, but at the same time they swim perfectly, and some even dive. The birds fly perfectly and are capable of speeds up to 80 kilometers per hour.
Family habits
Birds of the duck family lead a monogamous way of life and have complex social connections. They prefer to nest near ponds, and sometimes on islands. Females of the nest are lined with fluff, which is previously plucked from the abdomen. Chicks are born sighted, they grow quickly and are actively developing. In a couple of days, kids can independently get their own food. They feed, as a rule, in the dark. Absolutely all birds are shy in nature, and therefore try to be extremely careful.
It is believed that some species have well-developed sensory organs: smell, vision, hearing. Even the beak itself in ducks has a certain sensitivity.
Family Ducks are far from stupid birds. Many of them have a developed mind, such as geese. They transfer the accumulated life experience from one generation to another.
Habitats and food of ducks
The Duck family is very numerous and at the same time has a wide habitat. They are distributed almost throughout the globe (the exception is Antarctica). Absolutely all varieties molt twice a year: completely in summer and partially in autumn (or winter).
With full molt, birds even lose their ability to fly. Birds feed on plant foods: green parts of plants, seeds, basal parts of aquatic plants, shoots. But animal food for them is in second place. The feeding process takes place both in water and on land. Usually birds do not dive. From the bottom of the ponds they get food by immersing their neck in water, sometimes the front of their bodies.
Ornithologists suggest that once ducks began to spread across the globe from one of the continents located in the southern hemisphere. And today they are found all over the world. They are not only in Antarctica and on some islands in the oceans. It often happens that the same species is found in completely different places, in different conditions of existence (for example, in tropical and temperate climates).
Scientists believe that a similar phenomenon occurs due to deviation of the migratory paths of birds. They simply go astray and settle in new colonies in small colonies. Over time, they undergo certain changes in color, size, and even stop leading a migratory lifestyle.
Almost all birds of the duck family are waterfowl. And therefore they live near reservoirs, in a coastal zone. And some settle in the open sea. On any reservoir you can see one of the representatives of this family. And many deliberately settle next to a person in gardens and parks.
List of duck species
Ducks are an extensive family of three subfamilies: ducks, geese and half-footed geese. In total there are more than 150 varieties. These include:
- White-headed Savannah.
- White-headed dive.
- Big merganser.
- Red-headed Dive.
- Mallard.
- Goose Goose.
- Mute swan.
- Screaming swan.
- Sailor.
- Gaga common.
- Gogol ordinary.
- Svityaz.
- Peganka.
- Gray duck.
- Grey goose
- Tufted blackened.
- Singa.
- Teal whistle.
- Pintail.
- Teal cracker.
We see how vast the family of ducks is. The list provided by us is far from complete. It presents only some species. Let us dwell on some of them in more detail.
Gogol
Gogol (family of ducks) is a duck duck, which belongs to nomadic migratory species and is represented by two subspecies that live in North America and Eurasia. Birds hibernate in the south (including the Mediterranean basin). Very often feathered winters in Italy.
They nest in forest areas near lakes and large rivers, and winter along the coast or in fresh water. In May and April, birds lay up to 11 eggs, which the female subsequently hatches (for 29 days). Chicks stay in the nest for only a couple of days, and at the age of 8-9 weeks they begin to fly. Birds make only one clutch annually. They always gather in small groups, which they hold on to throughout life. Gogol flies quickly enough, and takes off after a run on the water. The bird eats animal food, which it takes out under water, diving for several meters.
Gogol (the family of ducks) has an interesting feature of arranging its nests in tree hollows, rabbit holes and artificial hollows. The male shows a characteristic mating behavior. Related species are Icelandic googol (nesting in America, Italy and Iceland) and small loot (nesting in Northern Eurasia).
Whooper Swan
Whooper Swan is a bird that got its name because of trumpet sounds made in flight. Whoopers are very large birds, their weight can reach ten kilograms. They feed in shallow water, completely immersing their head in water along with the dyne neck and the front of the body.
Under water, birds get plant roots, seeds, and catch small invertebrates: larvae, insects and crustaceans. They take off from the water surface because of their impressive weight. At first, the birds take a long run, slapping their paws on the water, and then gradually begin to gain height. Whoopers hibernate in the north of the Mediterranean, on the Caspian coast, and some birds fly to the southeast of Asia.
Swans give preference to open spaces: lagoons, lakes, estuaries, and the sea coast. They equip nests in wetlands, on islets, peatlands, in the tundra, on lakes. From the end of May, the nesting period begins. Females lay three to five eggs and then hatch them. Chicks are born in 31-42 days. Young individuals aged 11-14 weeks begin to fly on their own.
Related species include the tundra swan, which has a more modest size. This northern bird of the duck family nests, as a rule, in the Arctic belt of Eurasia, sometimes it can be found in Italy. But the black swan came from Australia, and it was brought to Europe as a decorative bird.
Tangerines
Who else represents the Utins family? Mandarin duck is perhaps the most beautiful duck in the world. This, of course, is about the drake, but the female is also good, but less brightly colored. This species of duck has another name - "Chinese duck". For many centuries, such birds adorned the imperial ponds in Japan, Korea and China, and therefore were called mandarin ducks (mandarin is a major official in Asia). Therefore, the fruits of tangerines have nothing to do with the origin of the name.
The bird is small and weighs from 0.5 to 0.8 kilograms. It belongs to forest ducks. In length, individuals reach 40-48 centimeters. Males have a very bright mating coloring. From the beginning of September to July, whiskers and crests are formed on the head and neck of the drakes. Bright orange notes appear in the color with transitions in purple, green and brown. The beak has a bright red color, and the legs are painted yellow. Males are very beautiful, but females look much more modest, gray-white and olive-brown shades predominate in their colors. Tangerines fly well, and also swim beautifully and even dive. On land, they move quickly enough. But their voice does not at all resemble the usual quacking, although they represent the family of ducks. A mandarin duck makes a squeak or quiet whistle.
Habitat
These beautiful birds originally lived in East Asia. In Russia, they currently nest in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, and in the Amur and Sakhalin Regions. In the northern regions, tangerines behave like migratory birds. In September, they fly away for the winter to China and Japan.
Tangerines have a characteristic feature: they like to live on a tree. Sometimes their hollows are found at a height of six meters. Such an unusual way of life made ducks learn to jump from a height without any damage to themselves.
I live mandarin ducks near mountain streams, over which trees hang, and in forests near ponds. In Russia, this breed, due to its scarcity, is listed in the Red Book. It is impossible to hunt such ducks, they are bred in parks and gardens as an ornamental breed.
As we have said, birds prefer to nest near the water, giving preference to windbreaks. At the command of the female, the ducklings dive directly from the hollow and then learn to swim. Mandarin ducks include fish, beetles, snails, plant seeds, acorns and frogs. Ducks can climb vertically up in the air, and therefore in oak plantings they easily find their own food. In addition, tangerines feed on rice, cereal shoots, buckwheat.
Features of the behavior of tangerines
Twice a year they change their plumage. In June, males lose their beautiful outfit and become like females. Mandarin ducks return very early from wintering, sometimes during the period when the snow has not yet disappeared. In the mating season between the drakes, enmity arises over the female.
Ducks lay seven to fourteen eggs. A month later, chicks appear. During the hatching period, the females do not leave the nests; the male feeds them. All summer both parents are engaged in the upbringing of their offspring, they teach them to swim, fly, defend themselves from predators. Kids can fly at the age of forty days.
In summer, tangerines are very unpretentious and get along well with other birds in any reservoirs, so they are often bred in zoos and arboretums as a decorative species, providing them with conditions close to natural. But it should be remembered that birds can not tolerate temperatures below five degrees, in winter they can not live on the street.
Patagonian geese
This genus of ducks contains five species: the Patagonian geese, the gray-headed goose, the red-headed goose, the common goose and the Andean goose. Habitat of birds - Falkland Islands and South America, Chile, Peru. Patagonian geese have conservation status. Birds feed on plant foods, preferring to walk on the forest edges and clearings. Their favorite foods are: rhizomes, seeds, shoots, leaves, cereals. In general, this genus is practically no different from other representatives of ducks.
Mallard
Mallard (family of ducks) is the largest river duck. Outwardly, males are different from females. They have a gray body, a chestnut chest and a green head. Mallards live in any reservoirs, but they prefer to nest on hummocks, land, less often - in hollows, sometimes they can settle far enough from the water. Mallard is very common in Europe. The body of the bird has a thick layer of fluff. The feathers are smeared with an oily mixture secreted by the coccygeal gland, so the duck never gets wet, although it is always in the water.
Mallards have swimming membranes between the toes that help them swim. Ducks fly perfectly, but on land they move extremely awkwardly. Birds feed on insects, amphibians, worms, shoots, plant foods. It was these ducks that were first domesticated by ancient people.
