How does a duck quack

In humans we vocalize with help from our Larynx sometimes referred to as a voice-box. Instead of a larynx like we have, birds including ducks have a syrinx located were the windpipe splits to go into each lung. Because the syrinx is located at this split, it allows some songbirds to produce two notes at the same time which results in the the amazing songs they can produce.

The female duck has this same symmetrical syrinx as songbirds do , but the male duck has large hollow chamber on the left side of the syrinx called the syringeal bulla. The research paper suggested that the tracheal membranes in the male are thicker due to the formation of the syringeal bulla and therefore cause the difference in vocalization.

Nearly all breeds of domestic ducks originated from the wild Mallard duck. Wild ducks in general are much quieter than domestic ducks which is most likely due to their natural instinct to not draw attention from predators. The breeds of domestic ducks that come from Mallards can all be fairly noisy especially a large group of females.

Over time they have developed vaginas comparable to Hampton Court Maze, with dead ends, and parts that spiral in the opposite direction to the male's penis. It doesn't end there. Some breeds of duck have penises so long they are able to use them as lassos see picture above. Researches at the University of Alaska theorise that the Argentinian lake duck will sometimes lasso escaping females in order to mate with them.

Ducks have also been known to have sex with dead ducks. I think it's fair to say that ducks are sex mad. There is a breed of duck that has more in common with a penguin than with its anatine cousins. Even though the Indian Runner can't fly, it can outrun many predators, and also its owner. Because of this, Indian Runners are occasionally used to train sheepdogs.

At some point in our lives, we've all been to the park to feed the ducks, usually clutching half a bag of stale Warburtons. However, feeding bread to a duck actually does the duck more harm than good. While ducks are largely omnivorous, and have even been known to eat sand and grit for its mineral content, bread is actually one of the worst things they can eat. More Ask a Scientist: Why dogs have a better sense of smell than humans. More: Animal Adventure Park's new giraffe has a name.

Those are the brown, speckled ones you usually see together with adult mallard males, which have a shiny green head and yellow beak. Female ducks, as it turns out, quack for many different reasons. For example, they have been known to quack when they are alone, and particularly if they are separated from their partner. Other birds usually join a female quacking by herself, which suggests they could be using the sound to tell other ducks, including the male, where they are.

Ducks tend to quack quietly so perhaps the echo is just too quiet to hear. Ducks also tend to live in open spaces away from large reflecting surfaces such as buildings or mountains for the sound to bounce off and produce an echo.

The team, led by Professor Trevor Cox, borrowed a duck called Daisy and first of all placed her in an anechoic chamber which deadens echoes and then in a reverberation chamber which has cathedral like acoustics where the sound echoes for a long time.

Although this experiment was just a bit of fun for the research team their work is important in the construction of buildings such as concert halls or cinemas and the design of cars. And what of Daisy? The duck, who was borrowed from a farm in Cheshire, was unfortunately subsequently eaten by a fox.

However, her daughter, unlike her echo, lives on. Bird watching. British birds of prey. Does A Duck's Quack Echo? They then recorded the resultant quacks and analysed the sounds.