There are many different kinds or groups of birds in the world. For example there are the hawks, hummingbirds, black birds, and oh so many more groups. One of my favorite groups of birds is the waterfowl. This is a very large group of birds containing the ducks, geese and swans. This group includes some of our largest birds and also some of the most beautifully decorated birds.
The Trumpeter Swan is the largest member of the waterfowl group. It stands about four and a half feet tall and weights nearly fifteen pounds. Amongst the geese, the Snow Goose’s is by far the most numbers goose on the planet with some flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Of the ducks the male Wood Duck is the most beautifully ornamented of all our ducks. On the surface you might think that ducks and geese are very similar, and superficially they are, but when it comes down to things such as breeding behavior they couldn’t be more different. ,
When breeding season rolls around individual geese look for a mate. Males try to impress the females with elaborate displays. Females will test the male’s abilities to see if they are going to be good providers and aggressive defense for the family. All of this and more makes up the courtship behaviors of the geese. Once mate selections have been made the pair will be bonded together for a very long time. Constructing the nest, defending the nest and eggs from predators and raising the young are shared between the male and the female. Truly a joint effort.
Male geese will always be nearby while the female incubates the eggs. He will even take over incubating when the female takes a break to get something to eat. After the goslings hatch the male is the front line defense against any predators. Anyone or anything that gets too close the male goose lowers its head and opens his beak to deliver a loud warning hiss. He will also chase after the intruder. Heck, male geese are even known to chase down cars if they get too close to their babies. All in all, the geese are wonderful parents.
Ducks on the other hand are completely different. When the breeding season rolls around all congenial courtship behavior found in the geese is off. In the duck world any unmated female will have at least one male in attendance at all times until she starts to lay eggs. Males will display for the females and some species will show off their brightly colored feathers for the females. However the pair bond that forms between the pair is not lasting and meaningful.
At the beginning of the season you often see one female and one male swimming together. However as the season progresses the number of males attending a single female climbs to six or seven. You can more easily see this in a behavior called the courtship flight. The courtship flight is a fast low flight that takes place over a marsh or wetland. The birds are zipping through the sky, taking many sharp twists and turns in flight. If you take a close look you will see that the group is always a single female and many males in hot pursuit.
The beautiful Wood Duck is no exception to these mating behaviors. At the beginning of the mating season the males are usually divided up evenly amongst the available females. This usually produces one male for each female. The males will follow their female around for many days while she is finished laying all of her eggs. They will mate many times during this period of egg lying. But once the females start to incubate, the males will abandon his female and will no longer have anything more to do with raising the young. The female is all on her own at this point. This is when things get a bit dicey. As the males leave the females they go out to look for another available female. So any female who is not incubating will suddenly have several males in close attendance. And when it comes to the actual mating process, the copulation, each of the males will try to mate the female. This often results in a mob of males all trying to mate with a single female. The results are mayhem. The females often try to take off and the males follow in hot pursuit. This is what is so inaccurately called the courtship flight. However once the female starts to incubate the males will take off and leave her alone.
So this year if you notice many males all hanging around a single female you will know why. It’s how the ducks do it. Until next time
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com