Donald Duck and Daffy Duck are probably the two most famous ducks around. These cartoon character ducks are annoying in a comical way, but what are their real-life brothers and sisters like?
Unless you live in Antarctica, there should be some ducks living close to you. It would be so relaxing watching a bunch of ducks on a pond. But if you have anatidaephobia, it would give you nightmares.
Some Interesting Facts About Ducks
How would it feel to give birth to children that weren’t entirely dependent upon you? Ducklings are born with their eyes open and plenty of feathers to keep them warm. They are able to leave the nest and feed themselves within hours of hatching.
webbed feet on a duck, flickr
Why do ducks have webbed feet that make them waddle when they walk? These webbed feet are like paddles that help them swim faster. But how would paddles help during flight? They only help if the duck wants to slow down. When he wants to do this, he leaves his feet spread. When he wants to speed up, he scrunches his “toes” close together so air resistance is limited.
The feet of a duck don’t have any nerves or blood vessels. For that reason, they can swim in even icy water.
water rolling off a duck’s back, flickr
Ever heard the phrase like water off a duck’s back? It means that the insult or criticism you’ve received will roll right off of you like water rolls off of a duck. There is a gland near the base of their tail that secretes a waxy coating. Because of the substance this gland secrets, they are able to waterproof their feathers with this coating when preening.
A duck family would be made up of a drake (the male duck), a hen (the female duck), and some ducklings (baby ducks). Depending on what species the duck is from, it can live from two to twelve years.
scary bird statue in cemetery, pixabay
Orinthophobia and Anatidaephobia
A phobia is an extreme dread or fear of something. When a person encounters the object of his or her fear, he could experience anxiety, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, an irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, dry mouth, etc. While this person’s phobia may seem outrageous or unreasonable to you, I assure you it is not unreasonable to the person experiencing it.
Never make fun of anyone with a phobia, but you can bless (or curse) your characters with any number of these fears. Choose either of the following phobias and create one or more characters who are afflicted with one or both of these fears.
scary Donald Duck clone, flickr
Orinthophobia is a fear of any bird. Not only would people with orinthophobia fear ducks, but they would fear other birds as well. I’m sure this phobia has many variations. Maybe only one kind of bird is feared. Possibly pictures of birds aren’t feared, but live birds are a terror. Or the person could have a fear of all birds in any form, real or fake.
Anatidaephobia would be an extreme form of orinthophobia that focuses on ducks. It is the fear that somewhere in the world there is a duck watching you. I have read that this is a fictional phobia, but I’m really not sure that it is. There seems to be a phobia for just about everything else.
Below is a film that shows a dream sequence about anatidaephobia. This is a great little film, and it should give you some awesome ideas for a story.
Collective Nouns
There are several collective nouns for ducks, but they are each pretty specific about the ducks they describe.
a bunch of ducks, pixabay
General Collective Nouns
brace -describes a pair of ducks
bunch – this would be any group of ducks
string – I picture a group of ducks waddling along in a straight line for this one.
Ducks on the Ground
badelynge or badling – Since each of these collective nouns begins with “bad,” I have to wonder if these ducks on the ground are bank robbers or murderers or something else not good. Could these be the ducks responsible for anatidaephobia? Are they the ones who are watching people and making them afraid?
a flight of ducks, public domain
Ducks in the Air
flight – Well, not much to say about this one except that it makes perfect sense.
skein – Maybe a group of ducks called a “skein” like to knit as they fly.
Ducks in Water
paddling – Would a paddling of ducks be performing water ballet? Maybe their paddling would be synchronzed.
raft – Would a raft of ducks all huddle together in the shape of a raft? Would they let other animals who couldn’t swim balance on top of them to cross the lake?
team – Maybe a team of ducks would play water football or something similar.
girl writing, etc.usf.edu
Writing Prompts
Develop a character with anatidaephobia. Just thinking about a character afflicted with this one is hilarious. What prompted his fear of ducks always watching him? Does he believe it is just ducks that are alive? Or does he even believe that stuffed ducks are watching every move he makes? Does he eat duck? Or is he afraid the duck is going to jump up off his dinner plate and chase him down?
Have you ever read The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese? It is a children’s story about a tame duck who becomes lost on the Yangtze River. Why not go and observe a group of ducks one afternoon? Maybe you could write a children’s story about a duck that will become just as well-loved as this book that was written in 1933.
Look back up through the collective nouns for ducks. Write a short story about how each of these came to be used to describe a group of ducks.
Lillian Jackson Braun wrote an entire series of books with a cat detective. What about a duck? Could a duck solve a mystery? Could a duck point out obvious clues that a human detective would miss? Why not try writing about a mystery that is solved by a duck?
Write about a duck that terrorizes an entire village. Why is the duck doing this? Is the duck really doing bad things, or are all the people who live there phobic about ducks?
Recommended Articles:
Omphalophobia, the Fear of Belly Buttons
Weather Phobias
Myrmecophobia, the Fear of Ants
Entomophobia, the Fear of Insects
Nebulaphobia, the Fear of Fog
Bogyphobia and Other Fears
Pediophobia, the Fear of Dolls
