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Project Noah Nature School
Anatidae
We are frequently visited by a Duck, who is begging for bread. Sometimes, it will just sit close to us as if she is looking for company. Today she was sitting close to me on the terrace in the sun and suddenly there was this "tear" dropping from her eye. She was also opening and closing her beak al the time. Is this some kind of sweating / heat regulation ? I have never seen this before Since there appears to be a problem adding a YouTube URL to the spotting I add it here: http://youtu.be/tXKdtapNCwk
Spotted on Jul 18, 2013
Submitted on Jul 18, 2013
4 Comments
Bread kills ducks.
Feed that duck bird seed.
Marta, thanks for your comment. As far as I know ducks will use fat from a gland at their tail to keep their feathers waterproof. We have been able to observe ducks for many many years, but the behavior, as shown in the video, is not common. First of all the gasping-like movements of the beak and secondly the secretion of moisture from the eye. This has happened several times during the time she was sitting there. I have never seen this before, as cleaning their feathers is a frequent routine. So this must be something else.
They exudate tears to help clean their feathers when they are preening so it is a normal behavior and I don´t think it is related to an emotional state :-)