In China, the duck, especially the Mandarin Duck, is symbolic of true love and romance. If the father duck had not foolishly boasted about his victorious escape, the falcon might never have mustered the strength to catch him. Hearing this, the injured falcon regains his strength and catches the duck at last. A duck lands in front of the falcon and begins to boast about how he cleverly evaded the falcon’s attack the previous year. Just as the falcon is about to give up, the ducks return to their springtime home. He spends an entire year starving and recovering his strength. The falcon strikes the father duck in the sky, but fails to catch him and plummets to the ground with a broken wing. In this story, a mighty falcon pursues a family of ducks. One Blackfoot myth uses a boastful duck to demonstrate the consequences of arrogance. Manabush cursed this vigilant bird to have red eyes forever. One of the ducks opened its eyes and warned the others to flee. While the ducks did as they were told, Manabush stealthily grabbed them by their necks and killed them one by one. Enjoying his singing, the ducks begin to dance with their eyes shut. In this story, a hero named Manabush asks the flock of ducks to close their eyes as he sings to them. One Menominee legend serves as an excellent demonstration of the duck’s gullible nature. Some versions of the “Earth-diver” myth suggest that the duck helped the creator to make all of the world’s continents by retrieving them from the mud at the bottom of the primordial sea. Duck Native American Symbolismĭucks are the frequent subject of Native American legends, although they most often appear as gullible targets just waiting to become the next meal of a wily trickster. The duck has come to represent playfulness, silliness, fun, childhood, gentleness, and mischief.

Something about the duck’s waddling gait, its huggable shape, and its raspy quack has endeared mankind toward this common aquatic bird.

( 3)įor this reason, ducks may represent balance, opposites, and either masculinity or femininity.įinally, ducks often appear in cartoons, books, and children’s media of all kinds. This means that males and females of this species have very different appearances once they reach adulthood. Many of the most recognizable species of ducks, including the iconic Mallard, are sexually dimorphic.

So, ducks may represent motherhood, parenthood, fidelity, family connections, protection, trust, and innocence. Mother ducks, for their part, are diligent, attentive, and very protective over their broods.

Young ducklings imprint on their mothers and follow them closely until they grow old enough to fend for themselves. Although only a few duck species mate for life, most ducks are perennially monogamous, meaning that they will court one mate per breeding season and remain together throughout the process of nest construction and egg laying. Read on to learn more about the magnificent duck!ĭucks are very family-oriented animals. Ducks connect us with nature and with the many virtues that they embody. In so many ways, the duck is one of the most incredible animals around and it is lucky for humanity that even in most urban environments, ducks can be found enjoying the water features of local parks. On top of that, ducks are common domesticated animals which have contributed much to human agriculture. ( 1)ĭucks are sociable, friendly, and fill their environments with a sense of natural beauty and balance. Genuinely charming and likeable, scientists working for the “LaughLab” experiment at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK concluded that the humble duck is the funniest animal around and is the subject of the funniest jokes. Lovable and ubiquitous, the duck is one of the many animals which is often found sharing habitats with humans.

Flock of ducks