Yes, I did skip over the details of duck mating, didn't I? Something about the way they exchange hoots or quacks to communicate as they court among the reedy plants along the river shore, one quack two quack. Enough said about that. After all, the main point of that particular report was the imprinting of the little ducklings that hatch afterward. There was something peculiar about this particular species of Canadian duck, something about the father duck actually functioning as the mother. Yes, it was something like that. So the mother duck lays the eggs and then flies away on vacation and the father duck stays behind and sits on the eggs until they hatch. Then when they hatch the father is the one who is there for the imprinting part and tends to the young hatchlings until they can fend for themselves as adult ducks joining the flock. Yes, this particular duck species is mentioned or alluded to in the famous play by Henrik Ibsen, "A Doll's House." So it can happen that the father is actually the mother because the little hatchling does not really notice. The little hatchling only knows the first thing that it sees when it is born. So it is quite possible that the hatchling is imprinted on by the male duck rather than the female duck. After all, we are only talking about a duck.
Which reminds me how interesting it was to watch the repartee on the TV show "Moonlighting." I cannot imagine how they think of all that stuff to say. I would never make it as a comedy script writer. I just don't get it. My mind doesn't work that way.
