Family of Ducks

[crobson]

The ducklings in the pond by my hotel are adorable little balls of down. They've been growing up quickly in the weeks I've been traveling here, under the watchful eyes of their parents. Or rather parent, for I'd been noticing, without really thinking about it, that the Daddy in this small family seemed permanently absent. I was scanning the

Comments

[zawzeroeight]

not to cast your identification into doubt, but

[tyratae]

i knew it would be my fault. :)

what i was gonna say was "so, wait, crobson, what you're really saying is that dad's a crossdresser, right?"

you & josh take a lot of cool pictures. got any advice for zawzeroeight? cuz i don't know nuthin' 'bout 'nuthin when it comes to camera-gadgetry & trekking...

[xodin]

Maybe it's an implication of cross dressing (cross plumage?) ducks!

[tamnonlinear]

Another possibility is that you do have two females raising a brood together. It's not uncommon in mating-pair bird species that females will shack up together. The traditional explanation is just that there weren't enough guys to go around, and the males will philander a bit, so you get females with fertilized eggs and no mate. Sometimes they pair bond with another unattached female to satisfy the nesting instinct for both of them. More modern research suggests that it isn't necessarily a consequence of a male shortage; some ducks just fly that way.

Interestingly enough, I once read a biologist's account of years of studying the mating habits of greylag geese. He reported that while there were definite patterns to the mating habits, no goose ever followed them exactley, all mating pairs (and mating triads) different in one respect or another from the pattern that could be discerned from the population as a whole.

Kinda reassuring, actually.

(sorry, I am tired and babble-y today)

[anonymous]

Whats the difference between a duck anyhow?
- Chikita B.