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COURT & SPARK © Rick Brown All Rights Reserved. |
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Ducks are fabulous. They come in bold, bright colors and are fun to watch, especially during breeding season. Some of the most fascinating behavior of ducks is found in their courtship rituals, which you might have observed without even knowing. Males perform head-shake and tail-shake displays, water flick, grunt whistles, head throw, head pumping and more. And some females elicit displays from the males through nod swimming–stretching their necks and holding their heads just above water. The female nod swims to provoke males to attack other males or females, while she is likely to laze back and evaluate the performance. Courtship display may have evolved because a variety of duck species tend to gather in small areas to breed, and their displays are made in plain view of the other species. To avoid hybridization, each species developed distinctive displays. Rick A. Brown has spent many hours watching and photographing the ducks, geese and swans native to North America. A student of bird behavior since college, Rick is fascinated by the breeding behaviors of waterfowl, and he uses his knowledge to capture unique images of courting ducks. See Rick's story on the 1000th trail at www.loupemedia.com/online/brown |
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Rick A. Brown Rick Brown 4075 Aerial Way, Apt #170, Eugene, OR 97402 | phone: 541 461-2973 email: rick@moosephoto.com | web: www.moosephoto.com |
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