The duck

📖 In short

Quack quack! The duck is a bird that loves water and swims easily in ponds, lakes and rivers. It has a wide flat bill and webbed feet like paddles. Ducks are related to geese and swans, but have shorter necks.

🤩 Did you know?

Some ducks can dive more than 55 meters deep.
Some ducks migrate thousands of kilometers every year in big flocks.
The male duck is often brightly colored, while the female is brown so she can hide while sitting on her eggs.
Most farm ducks come from the mallard, the wild duck with a green head.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Feathers that stay dry

A duck coats its feathers with oil from a gland near its tail, making them waterproof. So it comes out of the water dry and warm, and floats on the surface like a boat.

🔍 Feet like paddles

The webbing between a duck's toes turns its feet into paddles, so it pushes the water back and swims forward fast.

💡 Different ways of eating

Some ducks tip upside down in shallow water, tail in the air and head on the bottom looking for food, while others dive very deep. A duck's bill has edges that sieve seeds and insects out of the water.

🎯 Babies ready for life

A mother duck lays 5 to 12 eggs. After they hatch, the ducklings walk behind her in a long line, and swim and find food on their own after just a day or two.