# What is this duck doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934 "2009-04-13T12:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/1 "2009-04-13T12:11:39Z")
On Saturday, a hawk killed a female duck out behind our house. My wife opened the back door and the hawk flew off, leaving the carcass. Soon after, a male duck came by. At first we thought he began eating the body, but it was quickly evident that was not the case. He was pecking at her, nudging with his beak, and at times lifting her neck or wing with his mouth and then dropping it. My wife said, “I think he’s trying to wake her up.” We noticed yesterday that he had either come back or had not left, and we kept checking throughout the day. He stayed with the body all day long. At times he exhibited more of the above actions, but mostly he simply sat or stood nearby. At one point another male came by. He seemed indifferent to the dead female, but appeared to be trying to get the first male away from her. I try to do my best to avoid anthropomorphizing animal behavior, but it was almost as if he were saying, \*dude, she’s gone, you gotta come back to the flock now. \* They fought pretty vigorously at times. The second male would force the first away from the body, but he always fought his way back to her. He would not be dissuaded from his vigil. The duck was still there when we went to bed last night, and he was there when I left for work this morning. It’s been almost two days. So just what’s going on here? Is he waiting for her to wake up? Guarding her body? Mourning his lost mate? Is this normal behavior, and if so, how long will he keep at it? ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/2 "2009-04-13T12:23:34Z")
Wow, that’s sad. ☹ If I weren’t already a vegetarian, a story like that would put me off eating duck for good. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/3 "2009-04-13T12:34:11Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Wow, that’s sad. ☹ If I weren’t already a vegetarian, a story like that would put me off eating duck for good. My wife actually cried over this yesterday. As I said, I try not to assign human traits to wild animals, but, yeah. It’s pretty sad. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/4 "2009-04-13T12:35:28Z")
Consider that a pair of mated animals (even if the mating pair associates only for the mating season) is programmed to stay together. Such a pair bond creates behaviour that keeps the animals proximate, but does not account for the inability to comprehend death, finality or the future. At our level of comprehension, the mate is dead. At the duck’s level the mate is inactive. How much more overlay there is than that would certainly be anthropomorphizing until we learn how to speak quack better. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/5 "2009-04-13T13:29:48Z")
Big caveats apply, but once a band of blue jays ate some wren chicks that were nested in a trash can near my house. The female wren afterwards perched near the former nest and just sat there singing a very odd song (for wrens) for most of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Staale\_Nordlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Staale\_Nordlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staale_Nordlie)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/6 "2009-04-13T13:37:31Z")
The duck was trying to get laid. The dead duck was probably not in a good position for copulation (or you didn’t realize what the live duck was doing to it). [Example](http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2005/mar/08/highereducation.research): > [@](#): > > As he recounts in his seminal paper, The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard anas platyrhynchos, he was in his office in the Natuurmuseum Rotterdam, when he was alerted by a bang to the fact a bird had crashed into the glass facade of the building. "I went downstairs immediately to see if the window was damaged, and saw a drake mallard (anas platyrhynchos) lying motionless on its belly in the sand, two metres outside the facade. The unfortunate duck apparently had hit the building in full flight at a height of about three metres from the ground. Next to the obviously dead duck, another male mallard (in full adult plumage without any visible traces of moult) was present. He forcibly picked into the back, the base of the bill and mostly into the back of the head of the dead mallard for about two minutes, then mounted the corpse and started to copulate, with great force, almost continuously picking the side of the head. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/7 "2009-04-13T14:34:27Z")
My first thought was the same as Staale’s. Was it a Mallard duck? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/8 "2009-04-13T15:27:33Z")
> [@Staale\_Nordlie](#): > > The duck was trying to get laid. The dead duck was probably not in a good position for copulation (or you didn’t realize what the live duck was doing to it). The behaviour of the first male as described by the OP is far more passive than that attributed to the male in your link. The latter was observed to copulate almost continuously for about 75 minutes. The OP’s male exhibits aggression only to the second male, and sits or stands near the dead female for most of the time, only occasionally nudging her beak or lifting and dropping her neck and wing. I’m with **Chief Pedant**. The OP’s duck recognises an inactive mate. To us, it might appear to be grieving. But we don’t know the strength of that opinion. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/9 "2009-04-13T15:35:08Z")
Presuming that the duck might be grieving would seem to be a far more productive approach than writing them off as machines made of meat. Our own grieving is only a result of extensive attachment, so why should it be impossible for animals to replicate? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/10 "2009-04-13T16:13:58Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by \*\*Staale Nordlie \*\* > > The duck was trying to get laid. The dead duck was probably not in a good position for copulation (or you didn’t realize what the live duck was doing to it). > > The behaviour of the first male as described by the OP is far more passive than that attributed to the male in your link. Of course, I wasn’t monitoring the duck for the entire time, but I did not see anything that even remotely resembled attempted copulation. Unless, as Staale implied, he was trying to turn her over to get a better angle or something. But it didn’t _appear_ to be his primary goal. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/11 "2009-04-13T16:21:43Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Presuming that the duck might be grieving would seem to be a far more productive approach than writing them off as machines made of meat. > > Our own grieving is only a result of extensive attachment, so why should it be impossible for animals to replicate? Lacking more research, why assume either way? We just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/12 "2009-04-13T16:22:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was it a Mallard duck? Yes, I believe they are mallards, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/13 "2009-04-13T18:37:51Z")
I am a “DUCK HUNTER” and I have never seen any kind of empathy with any duck. We do see it with Canadian Geese, but of course this is spring mating time and we only hunt fall migrations. There are many stories about Mallard’s drowning their mate’s during copulation. ---
**Author:** ![Toaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@Toaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toaster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/14 "2009-04-13T20:10:06Z")
I wasn’t aware Mallards formed pair-bonds: I thought the males stuck with the female until she laid eggs, then left, possibly to find another chick. No attachment required or even useful at all. The eggs don’t need an active father figure, so the father is better off trying to sire more children with others. Attachment to the mother would deny his ability to get more children, without any boost to his current children’s survival. He may have been hounding the female until she was exhausted so that he could rape her, and is now perplexed… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/15 "2009-04-13T20:17:30Z")
> [@Toaster](#): > > possibly to find another chick I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/16 "2009-04-13T20:46:29Z")
> [@Toaster](#): > > I wasn’t aware Mallards formed pair-bonds: I thought the males stuck with the female until she laid eggs, then left, possibly to find another chick. No attachment required or even useful at all. The eggs don’t need an active father figure, so the father is better off trying to sire more children with others. Attachment to the mother would deny his ability to get more children, without any boost to his current children’s survival. According to [this report](http://www.jstor.org/pss/4088997), it is not unheard of for Mallards to form pair-bonds over more than one breeding season. Even if this is not the case, it does not preclude him from having a strong short-term attraction towards her. It’s also possible that he has had trouble finding female mates in the past, so he has decided that his best option is waiting for her to wake up. This would seem likely if he is less attractive than average, based on his size and the quality of his plumage. > [@](#): > > He may have been hounding the female until she was exhausted so that he could rape her, and is now perplexed… There was no evidence of this occurring. If he wanted to rape her, he’s had plenty of time to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/17 "2009-04-13T21:19:57Z")
Well, Mrs. Duck has been taken away. I suppose the townhome association got somebody to take care of it. Can’t blame them, but I would have been interested to see how this played out naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/18 "2009-04-13T21:21:47Z")
> [@Gbro](#): > > I am a “DUCK HUNTER” and I have never seen any kind of empathy with any duck. We do see it with Canadian Geese, but of course this is spring mating time and we only hunt fall migrations. > There are many stories about Mallard’s drowning their mate’s during copulation. I’ve heard of “just lost my mate” (hanging around and possibly nuzzling the newly dead) behaviour in geese also, but haven’t seen it. I was with a kid once who shot a goose out of a flock walking around in front of his house. The dead one flopped over and the rest didn’t even flinch. Just kept walking around. “Say, Bennie musta fainted or something.” I mean they did not even take a second glance. Different for pairs, of course, but my point is that the notion that some sort of a tragedy has just occurred is outside their bird brains in my opinion. I’ve had a similar experience with turkey hunting. I shot a turkey once and the other Tom with it took off for only a few seconds, returning shortly thereafter to do what I can only describe as a short dance of triumph at his rival’s collapse. Hysterically funny, and woulda been even funnier except I only had one license. Again, not a pair-bond story but I’m just pointing out that “dead” for you and me is not “dead” for birds. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/19 "2009-04-13T21:41:41Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I shot a turkey once and the other Tom with it took off for only a few seconds, returning shortly thereafter to do what I can only describe as a short dance of triumph at his rival’s collapse. Hysterically funny, and woulda been even funnier except I only had one license. This is one of those rare instances when a prolonged mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha really is justified 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934/20 "2009-04-13T21:48:46Z")
Given the limited nature of the pair bond in Mallards, I think it was very unlikely the male was mourning a dead mate. Much more likely he was interested in copulating with the female, even if he didn’t make any overt attempts. Male Mallards are known for engaging in rape behavior, and as mentioned above there is a documented case of homosexual necrophilia. The first report of such [avian Davian behavior](http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v100n02/p0293-p0294.pdf) involved a female that was killed by a goose and then gang-raped (if such a term can be applied to a corpse) by several male Mallards. “Davian behavior” comes from this limerick: > [@](#): > > There was a old hermit named Dave, > Who kept a dead whore in his cave. > He did admit > The feeling was shit, > But think of the money he saved! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-duck-doing/492934.md?page=2)