Ducks are one of those avian creatures that can effortlessly spend time on both land and water in order to perform their daily obligations.
Their bodies are equipped with fitting accessories like water-resistant feathers or webbed feet that allow them to swim as the perfect water-fowls they are.
However, despite such familiarity with these birds, little is known about how they hear any sound as there’s nothing visible on the side of their heads like other mammals.
So this begs the question: do ducks have ears? The short answer to this question is: Yes! Ducks do have ears and they are functioning as well!
But how are they invisible? How much can ducks hear? How do their ears work? This article will answer all of these questions if you manage to scroll till the end!
Contents
Do Ducks Have Ears?
Source: @captured_by_nicole_donker
As you’ve learned already, ducks have ears but they are usually uniformed with their head structure and hidden out of sight.
If you need an idea, then place duck ears side by side with reptiles who display a similarly placed ear region at the same height of their skin.
For ducks, these ears are covered in feathers and that too is naturally endowed for a number of reasons.
On one hand, ducks are known for migrating and withstanding speedy wind, and having external ears would greatly hamper their cause, thus feathers protect these sensors.
On the other hand, duck ears give them just enough hearing ability to receive sounds, be alert or respond to other ducks’ calls.
How Do Duck Ears Work?
It’s time for us to dive into the anatomy of duck ears to make sense of how they hear despite lacking the outer ear structure of other mammals. So, I’ve explained duck ears with human ears in contrast so that you can perceive this concept in a better light.
Much like human ears, duck ears too consist of three parts:
- Outer ear
- Middle ear
- Inner ear
For human beings, the outer ear is the extruded part or the ‘auricle’ that helps out in capturing the acoustics from the surroundings.
When it comes to ducks, they don’t have such a visible part, but nature has designed their entire head region in such a way that it functions in a similar way to absorb acoustics for the outer ear.
Middle and inner ear parts are quite different between humans and ducks. Human ears collect sounds using the outer ear that’s channeled through the middle ear composed of bones and fluids. It ends in the tympanic membrane or eardrums.
For ducks, the tympanic membrane is significantly shorter than human ears, and even sits at the lower length within all bird kinds.
This is where all the picked up sounds are finally reached for their brains to interpret them.
Other Uses of Duck Ears
Source: @nomadic_nil
When it comes to balancing in the 3D space, duck ears come in handy as a part of a larger system.
Human beings have a part inside their ears called ‘semicircular canals’. There, a fluid is stored which moves around as we move through space to tell our brains about our orientation, thus maintaining balance.
The same part exists inside a duck’s ears too and it renders their balance very effective while walking, flying or swimming.
However, it’s not the only part that ensures good balance for them as their lumbosacral organ (LSO) around the butt area plays a bitter role in such cases.
How Much Can Ducks Hear?
It’s been a question that many asked and researchers are still conducting different tests using newfound methods to find the best answer.
As you’ve seen from the structures, human ears are more complex, and thus they can pick up sound waves between 20 Hz to 20 kHz (or 0 dB to 120 dB).
According to the National Library of Medicines, duck hearings were measured at a level of 60 dB sound pressure level (re 20 μN/m2). There, their hearing range spreaded between 6.85 octaves from 66 Hz to 7.6 kHz, with a best sensitivity of 12.5 dB at 2 kHz.
It means that ducks have a lower frequency response than human beings, so humans will hear a lot of sounds that ducks simply will miss.
However, mallard ducks are known to exchange supersonic sounds which cannot be picked up by human ears. None of these two species have the sensors to identify ultrasonic sounds.
Do Duck Ears Work Underwater?
Source: @antonietta_faino
In the Journal of Experimental Biology, sea duck underwater hearing was tested on subjects to assess whether their ears would actually work underwater.
The team reached a conclusion that duck ears can pick up a sound range between 1.0–3.0 kHz which indicates that duck ears DO WORK underwater.
However, this frequency of sound waves underwater are most common ones for the deep sea waves and thus, it could be difficult for ducks to separate one sound from another.
What Kind of Sounds do Ducks Make?
Duck calls are basically the sounds that ducks produce using their vocal cord to communicate with other ducks for numerous reasons.
Based on different tests and analyzing the frequencies that ducks tend to perform their callings, researchers have enlisted 8 broad categories of duck sounds:
- Basic Quack
- Greeting Call
- Feed Call
- Highball Call
- Comeback Call
- Lonesome Hen Call
- Pleading Call
- Whistling
Not all of the duck species can master these calls altogether. But it’s understood that most of the ducks have sufficient ear capacities to understand and respond to these callings.
Duck Ear Development Age
Source: @emanuel.kolb
Much like human babies, ducklings start to develop their ears when they’ve grown inside their egg shells and breaking out is a few days due.
They learn to identify their mother’s voice from within the egg shells and it helps them to identify their mother upon birth.
It’s really intriguing that ducklings can separate their mother’s calls from other ducks and they have certain ways of responding to all of them.
That’s how you’ll see ducklings following their mothers around and react in different ways based on circumstances following the mother duck’s commands.
How Do Geese & Swans Hear?
Both geese and swans belong to the same family as other ducks, and as they’re distant cousins, the hearing process is very similar across these species.
There are some minor differences between their hearing system structures, like the length of the middle ear or the sound frequency range that they can pick up.
Also, their callings are unique to their species as well and they don’t often respond to cross-species callings.
FAQ
Let’s further our quest on ‘do ducks have ears?’ to learn more about these avian creatures and their interactions with sounds.
Q: Can a duck mimic sounds?
A: No, ducks aren’t creatures like parakeets that are known mimicry experts. The former species has its natural ‘quack’ calls that they stick to instead of copying other sounds.
Q: Can ducks learn their names?
A: Yes! Ducks can learn names in many cases and their brains are equipped to this ability. Pet ducks are often called by unique names and they seem to respond to those.
Q: How to see a duck’s ears?
A: If you’re adamant on seeing a duck’s ear, all you have to do is to hold the duck gently between your thighs without causing it any pain. Make sure to keep your body away from a duck’s pecking range because it can get violent upon such confinement. Then, on the sides of their head, locate a tiny hole on each side which can be seen by uncovering the concealing feathers.
Thoughts
Now I can rest my case and finally concede that you’ve received all there is to know on the matter of ‘do ducks have ears?’ query.
Ducks are simple yet magnificent birds and it’s quite common for you to find them at your locality unless you’re living in a highly urban locality.
Their ears share resemblances with human ears in many ways and yet hold significant differences due to the gap in these species.
They are smart, are able to learn & identity calls of other ducks and even to some extent memorize unique names assigned by humans.
So you can now understand, despite being hidden out of sight, duck ears do perform some of the most essential tasks for their survival!
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