Why Ducks Do That: 40 Distinctive Waterfowl Behaviors Explained & Photographed

by Chuck Petrie

Questions on the behavior of waterfowl are answered and illustrated by color photos.

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a pond across the street, and it is home to a lot of ducks and geese. They are fun to watch when they land on the water: They lower their feet and more or less ski to a stop. Becoming airborne, ducks are especially interesting, as they take off almost vertically.

This book I ran across in the library, decided it looked interesting, and it was! Ducks have a lot more to them than you'd really think. Such as, they must have very large eggs -- the clutch may weigh half the hen's weight! -- because the birds come out with feathers and all. To avoid predators, the ducklings must be able to walk and swim within hours of hatching. And, the drakes desert the hens once the nesting starts. This is to the hens' advantage, because the drakes, which have far brighter colors, would tend to attract predators. Plus, the hens need reliable stores of food for the month or so it takes to incubate the eggs, and drakes would draw this down in they stayed there.

One thing the book did not explain: How come ducks like to quack all night long? They make a huge racket.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is all about ducks and why they do what they do. Just like the title says. I read this book so I have more of an advantage when duck hunting. It was a decent book, but got very technical into Latin names and hybrids. I don't know why anyone would read this book really.

[sam k · Rating 5 out of 5]

duck facts 🦆👍

[Scott Rauland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun facts and beautiful photos make for a great read for anybody who likes ducks!