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The word duck comes from Old English dūce 'diver', a derivative of the verb *dūcan 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen 'to dive'. Pacific black duck displaying the characteristic upending "duck"
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.
Certain words in the English language represent animal sounds: the noises and vocalizations of particular animals, especially noises used by animals for communication. The words can be used as verbs or interjections in addition to nouns , and many of them are also specifically onomatopoeic .
In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups. The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans , an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners . [ 1 ]
Aix is a bird genus that contains two species of ducks: the wood duck (Aix sponsa), and the mandarin duck (Aix galericulata). Aix is an Ancient Greek word used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird.
Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species. This is a large duck, and the male's long central tail feathers give rise to the species' English and scientific names. Both sexes have blue-grey bills and grey legs and feet.
The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian Arlecchino, French Arlequin ), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte . The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor".
Duck, a lead weight used by draftsmen to hold splines in place; Duck, a hypocorism or affectionate phrase, often used in parts of the Midlands and South Yorkshire in England, originally derived from the title Duke; Duck, a very short cave sump; Duck, in architecture, any building in the shape of something associated with it; named for the Big Duck