The Attack of the Killer Rhododendrons (2014)
“ON A SMALL LAKE, not so many kilometres from my former home in Canada, breed small ducks whose mating displays are so devilishly cute that they cause me to laugh. Although female Ruddy Ducks are not particularly resplendent, males have baby-blue bills and stiff tails that they point skyward while courting. This explains two of the rather less imaginative nicknames that hunters have for this species—stifftails and bluebills. When amorous, a drake Ruddy Duck bobs up and down in the water furiousl...y, calling pita-pita-pita-pita-pita-peuuuuuu. Some trick of his breast feathers means that, while bobbing, the water around him erupts into a bubbly froth. This is apparently irresistible to females.
Ruddy Ducks have a wide breeding distribution in Canada and the United States, which is all well and good. The problem began about a half century ago when someone in England decided to import Ruddy Ducks. Nothing ever stays in captivity for long, and these ducks soon managed to establish a modest breeding population on the wrong side of the Atlantic.MoreLess
Ruddy Ducks have a wide breeding distribution in Canada and the United States, which is all well and good. The problem began about a half century ago when someone in England decided to import Ruddy Ducks. Nothing ever stays in captivity for long, and these ducks soon managed to establish a modest breeding population on the wrong side of the Atlantic.MoreLess
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