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Birding/mother duck killing another's baby

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Expert: - 7/2/2007


Question
Yesterday we saw the mother of one group of ducklings kill (and I mean repeatedly dive bomb and go after relentlessly while the mother was fighting her off), one of the small ducklings of another mother duck.  They all live in the same lagoon vacinity.  We watched the one mother lose 4 ducklings in one night (don't know how), and then have one "murdered" right in front of us the next day. She's now down to 5.  What would cause this vicious attack?

Answer
Well, I don't know the exact circumstances or whether the ducks were the same or different species, so I can't give a specific answer. Most likely it was just a case of territoriality - one mother defending her territory for food, protection, etc. by keeping the other ducks out. Killing them is a bit unusual, though.

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

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Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

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PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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