Small mallards deceive hungry predators

A FEW days ago I was travelling slowly down the Grand Canal in my boat when a female mallard appeared out of a reed bed a few metres in front of the bow.

She appeared to be injured, flapping her wings wildly, straining her neck forward, splashing and barely managing to keep in front of the boat. This continued for 50 or 60 metres and then she made a miraculous recovery, took off almost vertically and flew back to the reed bed she had emerged from.

She was, of course, faking it. Back in the reed bed was a little group of newly hatched ducklings under strict instructions to keep quiet and remain hidden while mother lured a strange predator away by pretending to be easy prey. This trick is a survival strategy that is used by many species of wild duck around the world. A few other bird families do it too. A female lapwing once tried it out on me.