This missive diverges from the subjective Saga coming from the duck point of view. This essay is definitely an objective human point of view.
I find a rich array of duck sounds, and have learned to talk a bit of Duck language. Females not only quack and males growl, but females also whimper, chirp, moan with pleasure, have a wide variety of quack tones, and body language adds to the meanings. A duck mother has a whole array of different whimpers that she uses to communicate with her clutch of ducklings. When soliciting sex, a female will approach a drake with her head tucked down to the left, bobbing over her shoulder, uttering a cadenced, "Uk, uk, uk, uk..." sound, and shifting from foot to foot.
2 of my drakes have taken to whistling after they successfully mount a female. I wouldn't describe the whistle as a "cat call," the whip-whew sound. No. A duck whistle is more like you would exclaim "Wow!" It sounds like "Whe-e-e-e-w!"
They also use their wings like arms. Ancient Tiny, who teaches the new generations the history and folklore of the flock, uses the tips of her wings like a centenarian with a walker. A duck mother uses her wings to push the ducklings back to where she can best care for or defend them. One time, I introduced my favorite, also current Alpha among ducks, to my new gosling. In the blink of an eye, he whupped upside her head twice with his powerful wing, and she died a few hours later of neurological damage.
Some people can hear meaning in the duck sounds. Most only hear, "Quack, quack, quack!" I appreciate when guests hear the different tones in the quacks, and come running when it sounds urgent. If one duck is in trouble, or if a predator enters the yard, the tone is much different. Now that I think of it, the actor who voiced Donald Duck may have listened to real ducks more than I expected.
I find a rich array of duck sounds, and have learned to talk a bit of Duck language. Females not only quack and males growl, but females also whimper, chirp, moan with pleasure, have a wide variety of quack tones, and body language adds to the meanings. A duck mother has a whole array of different whimpers that she uses to communicate with her clutch of ducklings. When soliciting sex, a female will approach a drake with her head tucked down to the left, bobbing over her shoulder, uttering a cadenced, "Uk, uk, uk, uk..." sound, and shifting from foot to foot.
2 of my drakes have taken to whistling after they successfully mount a female. I wouldn't describe the whistle as a "cat call," the whip-whew sound. No. A duck whistle is more like you would exclaim "Wow!" It sounds like "Whe-e-e-e-w!"
They also use their wings like arms. Ancient Tiny, who teaches the new generations the history and folklore of the flock, uses the tips of her wings like a centenarian with a walker. A duck mother uses her wings to push the ducklings back to where she can best care for or defend them. One time, I introduced my favorite, also current Alpha among ducks, to my new gosling. In the blink of an eye, he whupped upside her head twice with his powerful wing, and she died a few hours later of neurological damage.
Some people can hear meaning in the duck sounds. Most only hear, "Quack, quack, quack!" I appreciate when guests hear the different tones in the quacks, and come running when it sounds urgent. If one duck is in trouble, or if a predator enters the yard, the tone is much different. Now that I think of it, the actor who voiced Donald Duck may have listened to real ducks more than I expected.
