Duck Facts for Kids

21 Duck Facts For Kids

1. Duck is the common name for a group of waterfowl bird species that are members of the Anatidae family.
2. Ducks are widely known for their vocalized quacking sounds.
3. Duck species are found worldwide and inhabit every continent except for Antarctica.
4. Ducks live in a wide variety of habitats, varying by species, with some even adapting to subantarctic islands.
5. Regardless of the temperate where a duck species lives their habitat almost always includes a body of water.
6. All duck species are classified as omnivorous and eat a combination of plant and animal material.
7. A duck’s diet includes, but isn’t limited to aquatic plants, crustaceans, fish, fruit, grass, insects, and seeds.
8. Duck species come in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes, varying by breed and their location.
9. There have been 166 duck species scientifically describe by scientists.
10. The average healthy adult duck will live between 5 and 10 years, which ones in captivity living longer.
11. The largest duck species is the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) which can weigh up to 15 pounds.
12. The smallest duck species is the African pygmy goose (Nettapus auritus) which usually weigh less than a pound.
13. The fastest flying duck species is the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) with a top recorded air speed of 100 miles per hour.
14. The longest distance flying duck species is the brant (Branta bernicla) which migrates nonstop around 3,000 miles.
15. Arguably the most colorful duck species is the mandarin duck (Aix galericulata).
16. The most distributed duck species is the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) which is found on five continents.
17. A male duck is called a drake, a female duck is called a hen, and a juvenile duck is called a duckling.
18. A group of ducks is called a raft and a group of ducklings is called a brood.
19. When ducks are flying together, it is usually in a V shape. This helps make flying easier and they rotate their positions in the V as they progress to their destination.
20. There are subspecies of the mallard duck that have been domesticated by humans, they are know as the domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus).

Duck Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on ducks. Below are three pictures of various ducks. These pictures should help you better understand what ducks look like.

A picture of a duck in the water.

A picture of ducks flying over a lake.

A picture of two ducklings in the grass.