Ducks. I want to know about ducks.
Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 18:28

Today I want to talk about ducks. Or geese. Whichever ones mate for life. Is anyone out there a wildlife biologist? (I keep wanting to say entomologist, because duck is Ente in German. But I don't want to talk about bugs, I want to talk about ducks.) (Actually, I don't want to 'talk about' them, I just have some questions.)

So, they mate for life, but do they spend a long time choosing which one they're going to mate for life with? Do they date first? Are they picky, or do they just take the first one they meet? Ducks have different personalities... do some get along better than others? Do they take this into consideration?

Are all ducks the same astrological sign?

If they're separated or one dies, how long does it take for the other one to find a new mate? Will they find a new mate if they don't know if the other one is dead or not? Will they search around for it forever until they're sure it's dead?

And what about their quacks? Someone must have studied the communicative properties of duck quacks. They must be able to communicate somehow, like one says, "Hey, it's your turn to take the kids for a swim" or "I don't want to fly south anymore. I'm tired. Let's stop." or "We're only stopping for fifteen minutes! Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes!" or "You need to go take a bath" or "I love how your iridescent head shines in the sun" or "Your quack is sexy."

There are many more questions I have about ducks, but I think this will do for tonight.

p.s. Two months ago today I met Mike McCready.