November 14, 2020

Anatidae and Ungulates

Anatidae is the bird family that include ducks and geese. 


This black duck appeared in my yard, following some geese around. The red marking above his beak  suggests he may be part muscovy. The white mark is not his eye; his eye is above it. 

The white goose is one of a family that visits my yard every day. The geese rule the lake and the land around it!

There's a small strip of wetland between our yard and our neighbor's. We don't venture there but the birds like it. Here I'm looking at Canada Geese marching across the grass beyond the swampy strip.

On Thursday we drove to the recycling center and then made a brief visit to Shenandoah National Park. We saw three deer but only one was near a parking place where I could stop and take pictures.

Both deer and horses are ungulates, or hoofed animals. I just read that whales are descended from ungulates! That seems surprising but then consider that a hippo is an ungulate, and a whale seems kind of like a big ocean hippo! 

Saturday Critters / I'd Rather Be Birdin'

 

16 comments:

  1. Hello. That black duck is interesting.
    Wonderful photos.
    Have a nice sunday.

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  2. Hello,
    The first duck does look like the Muscovy. I love the deer and horses. We are seeing lots of Canada Geese here. Great photos! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day! Wishing you a great new week ahead. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  3. Wonderful collection of animals, the Muscovy Duck and the Deer my favourites.

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  4. Awesome images of the ducks & geese. And your other critters are pretty special too!!
    Thanks for stopping by & adding your shared link at IRBB.

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  5. And of course, whales are mammals and not fish.

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  6. ...two terms that I wasn't aware of.

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  7. Evolution is really amazing. The key to imagining it seems to be grasping the incredibly long time it takes to turn a hooved animal into a whale, one minuscule change at a time.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  8. Ocean Hippos or maybe Land Whales.
    I learned something new from you!!

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  9. The age of mammals may someday be just a memory with bones unearthed...just as dinosaurs was.

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  10. Interesting post and nice photos.

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  11. The horses are beautiful and it's so neat to catch a glimpse of some deer! We saw 2 yesterday on our hike and it was the highlight of the day!

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  12. Nice photos. I particularly like your snap of the deer. Have a wonderful week.

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  13. Hello Linda
    The picture of the deer is wonderful!
    I love these wonderful animals.
    Hugs and greetings.
    Lucja

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  14. Good info I had no idea horses and whales were related...Have a good week.

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  15. Really! How interesting to learn that fact about whales! I can believe that the white goose is the boss of all he surveys. It’s neat to have a wetland bordering your place!

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