Duck (Animal) by Victoria de Rijke PDF

By Victoria de Rijke

ISBN-10: 1861893507

ISBN-13: 9781861893505

The squat, noisy duck occupies a fashionable function within the human cultural mind's eye, as evidenced via every little thing from the rubber duck of formative years baths to coverage ads. With Duck,Victoria de Rijke explores the universality of this quacking fowl during the process human tradition and history.
 
From the Eider duck to the Brazilian teal to the ordinary mallard, duck species are richly different, and de Rijke bargains a accomplished evaluate in their evolutionary historical past. She explores the varied roles that the duck performs in literature, paintings, and religion—including the Hebrew trust that geese symbolize immortality, and the Finnish fantasy that the universe was once hatched from a duck’s egg. the writer additionally highlights the numerous function humor has continually performed in human imaginings of duck lifestyles, akin to the Topographia Hibernia, a twelfth-century tome contending that geese originated as growths on tree trunks washed up on a seashore. however the publication doesn't overlook the bird’s position in way of life besides, from foodstuff dishes to jokes to loved lively characters similar to Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. Duck is an pleasing account of a chicken whose distinct silhouette is understood internationally.

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In 1934 the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (or ‘Duck Stamp Act’) was passed by us Congress, requiring the purchase of a Federal Duck Stamp by waterfowl hunters to generate revenue to protect wetlands. 5 million acres of waterfowl habitat. Duck hunters in North America and elsewhere take pains to ensure the continuity of their sport by funding wetlands conservation. The private organization Ducks Unlimited has over a million supporters. Founded by duck hunters in 1937, it has concentrated on saving the main wildfowl-nesting habitats in North America, in particular the 906,500 square km (350,000 sq.

Due to the risks to the female with mating or ‘treading’ in the water, female ducks can drown. risks of repeated harassment, wounding or death. When artificially crowded, males can become exceedingly troublesome. 28 As many as 40 males may chase a single female in aerial or aquatic pursuit; drakes have been known to grab and mount females underwater when they dive (attempting escape) or knock females to the ground in mid-flight. In some populations as many as 7–10 per cent of all females die each year as a result of drowning or injuries incurred during rapes.

Duck have evolved a covering of heat-retaining down beneath an outer coat of closely interlocking feathers. A gland at the base of the bird’s tail secretes waterproofing oil and frequent preening serves both to distribute this oil throughout the plumage and to maintain the interlock of the feathers. Additional protection against heat loss is provided by a subcutaneous layer of fat. Ducks often migrate without stopping to eat or drink, using their high fat reserves to manage epic journeys and weather the extreme cold and conditions of some wintering grounds.

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Duck (Animal) by Victoria de Rijke


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