March 08, 2005

Fuck a Duck
The strange case of the homosexual necrophiliac duck pushed out the boundaries of knowledge in a rather improbable way when it was recorded by Dutch researcher Kees Moeliker.
Now, don't tell me this ain't natural.
posted by Skrik 19 years ago
  • Fuck a doodle doo
  • Jesus, that was yonks ago, and it only made into the Gruniad today. I didn't even think of doing a search here.
  • This brought back great memories of reading old-school monkeyfilter while fucking dead animals.
  • That's slightly more interesting than the glow in the dark duck (aka phosphorescent waterfowl).
  • The slow build up to the road kill squirrel sex is what sold that story to me.
  • It may be natural, but that doesn't make it nice. Shame on you, Mr. Duck.
  • Back in 2003 this... ahem... pioneering research won an Ig Nobel prize. Previously mentioned here. That site is science nerd comedy GOLD. (waves nervously at all the monkeys)
  • See also mice.
  • Hey pianistic.
  • A Drake, victim of an Act of Infamy, fell under scientific scrutiny. Of feathered fowls, he woz a fools' epitome -- for into a window he did fly, and timbled down, only to lie lifeless, upon the ground. The late drake's pal, another male, his companion's corpse then did assail, pecking it and finally trying to copulate. We don't know if the deceased had been his mate. This dead duck, from what I read, aroused the other drake's lust. By simply lying there, unmoving, unresponsive in the dust. For he was dead. And both these birds were out of luck.
  • Caspar the homosexual necro duck
  • That reminds me of this... www.warande.net/~pixel/stfu/eenden.jpg
  • Thanks for the Ig Nobel link, pianistic. Talk about a keeper-- that joint is link heaven!
  • I can only tell about my own experience with questionable mallard sexual practices. I was walking with a friend near some houseboats when we spotted a mallar pair (male and female) waddeling along, obviously in love, when they were suddenly set upon by a gang of male mallards. They drove the male away, then set upon the female with what could only be described as an attempt at gang rape. No, I'm not trying to be funny, although one has to admit it's *hilarious*, and yes, this is a true story. Anyone else have any strange animal kingdom tales to regale us with?
  • The mallards of King's College, Cambridge were notorious and proficient gang rapists - exactly the scenario mk1gti describes was a fairly regular sight along the banks of the Cam. Except, sometimes, they'd drive the female one away and rape the male.
  • OK mh1gti, this one has puzzled me for years: When I was still living in Chicago, I saw a flock of really pissed off seagulls target a single crow (out of maybe 20 or so), and violently tear the poor bird to shreds. This was 25 miles from lake Michigan, on an open stretch of prairie, and the gulls seemed to come from nowhere. When they were done, the whole flock took to the air and flew off. It looked like a mob hit. What could have a single crow have done to get that sort of response from a whole community of seagulls? Do birds have gambling debts?
  • the_bone's link to his own original post is absolutely fascinating. There are a fair amount of comments, and a fair amount of people commenting. All of the monkeys making comments back on November 26, 2003 (with the exception of, I think two) are still very heavy contributors here now. It looks to me like Monkeyfilter was born on November 17, 2003. A mere eleven days later was the duck post. I just find that to be pretty interesting and cool that all of those people are still here. It also makes me feel like a johnny-come-lately little schoolgirl who doesn't deserve to be part of such history.
  • Most people aren't aware of it but the avian community is deeply fascinating (former birder) Take crows and ravens, both some of the most intelligent members of the bird groups. They have very carefully organized societies, actually help each other out, some crows in the south seas actually make *tools* to root around in trees for food, the list goes on. Check out your local bookstore's bird section for more info. I've seen so many fascinating things happen with birds while I was out there birdwatching, or just catching out of the corner of my eye onto something else. Once I saw a red-tailed hawk floating down towards a tree, it's wings outstretched when all of a sudden a smaller bird just *exploded* out of the tree-tops directly towards it. The smaller bird attacked the hawk and drove it off. Obviously the smaller bird was a mother protecting it's nest, since then I've seen other incidents of similar behaviors.
  • It is not called a murder of crows for nothing
  • fupped ducks.
  • I'd like to see this turned into a nasty Disney film. Uncle Scrooge is getting up there in years y'know, those randy boys might have a go at him soon enough. Might just put new meaning to "watching a DuckTails episode"... At the least it'd show they're into him for more than just his money.
  • Ducky dalliance is not always what casual observers might suppose. Unlike mammals, birds have cloacas, and the usual birdy procreative act involves a male mounting a female and attempting to place his cloaca against hers. With some species even a vague approximation of the target will work, as seminal fluid can run down feathers to the female's cloaca. Actual penetration is not characteristic of bird intercourse. Among some species the male wil hold the female by the nape of the neck in order to steady himself for what is a fairly acrobatioc feat, since he has to balance on top of her back while performing. If she wobbles or objects, off he goes, and that is the end of it. It's not easy, therefore, for me to take seriously the concept of forcible entry/rape in a birdy context. The period of seventy-five minutes which is referred to makes me think these two ducks may have formed a pair-bond -- presumably the failure of its dead partner to respond might have triggered this excessive attempt on the survivor's part. The pecking is also understandable, for its partner's failure to repond could have also triggered the usual behaviour in a flcok bird of attacking any member of its flock which behaves abnormally. It isd possible the drake suffered from these two simultaneous and conflicting impulses -- I have great difficulty it would have persisted for so long otherwise. Anserine birds in general are reputed to form strong and lifelong pair-bonds. Matings among wild birds in my experience are typically speedy affairs, matters of seconds only, due to the danger of predation. It is not uncommon to find captive birds kept alone indulging in masturbatory activity, the urge to mate often being triggered by length of exposurte to light and similar external factors which are beyond either control or volition of the individual bird.
  • Fascinating video of a crow spontaneously shaping a wire tool in order to reach food.
  • Great link, Nal. I went looking for a link that my nephew sent me a while back, but it's disappeared, it seems. The video showed a group of ravens sliding down a snowbank on their backs and clearly having a great time doing nothing more than playing. It was fascinating, watching a few birds line up to wait to get back on the hill and laughing with unquestionable joy at the fun they were having, like a bunch of kids.
  • Oh, Coppermac, please find it! That sounds like a hoot.
  • It's not easy, therefore, for me to take seriously the concept of forcible entry/rape in a birdy context. bee, I think you're taking an awful chance here, so close to International Mallards' Day, and all. It's not about 'entry' so much as about control.
  • Hi pianistic, welcome!
  • Every night here at work I get to witness an amazing sight: a thousand or so crows on their way to their evening roost. There are two roosting sites in Seattle at Seward park and near the UofW stadium in the marshes there. The crows fly in groups of around 400 or so and stop to rest on the buildings at the corporate office park I work at. While they're resting, the younger ones fly around the parking lot, mock fighting with one another, practicing soaring skills and doing these wild acrobatic stunts. It's like kids on skateboards saying 'looka me!' Then, all at once usually around 4:15 (they're very punctual) they all rise up and fly west towards their roosting site. It's a shame we're moving to another location at the end of the week, I'll miss the evening aerobatic displays...
  • Now, don't tell me this ain't natural. Everything is natural.
  • I love watching crows too, mk1gti. Your previous post about the hawk reminded me of a drama I watched unfold this past spring. A large hawk was circling around some tall pines when about a dozen crows surrounded it, forming a mid-air barricade. (There must have been hatchlings nearby.) After a lot of thwarted twists and turns, the hawk landed and perched at the top of a pine. The crows took turns divebombing it- a few got close enough to get pecks in! -before swerving off at the last minute. After about 20 minutes of harrassment, the hawk took off, and the crows just erupted into these loud cackling calls- it was as if they were celebrating. What amazing flyers they are! BTW coppermac, I hope you find that link. It sounds great!
  • I looked for the link again, but no luck. My nephew recalled it was a part of a video that was originally from a European (he believes) nature show, but can't recall the details. Google is proving, once again, to be absolutely useless. Maybe I ought to find a raven expert somewhere on the net and ask him or her to dig it up. Someone who works in the field (a scarecrow, perhaps) ought to have the inside track on a video like this.
  • I'm sure that vid's been posted here, but I'm damned if I can find it!
  • the lusty drake and wretched duck now stop their dabbling in this northern muck up up they go and leave men gaping here below they form long lines and fly in vees far to the south like common loons and geese
  • Unlike mammals, birds have cloacas, and the usual birdy procreative act involves a male mounting a female and attempting to place his cloaca against hers. O RLY?
  • Dr McCracken and colleagues speculate that the giant penis may be an example of 'runaway' sexual selection, where female preference drives male anatomy to ever-greater extremes, as in the peacock's tail. BwahAhaha! Dr McCracken! *snort*
  • the giant penis may be an example of 'runaway' sexual selection 'run away' indeed.
  • You need-a verra long runaway for to land-a thees dock. *honk*
  • my duck is huge!