Freddy’s Bird

(Wood Duck)

I do my best
But each evening
the sun, the sky, the clouds
outshine my every feather.

Humble as the thoughts of this Wood Duck might be, his many-colored plumes are no accident. But before I go there, I wanted to say that the inspiration for this painting came from my friends Freddy and Charley. On a recent walk, Freddy spied her very first male Wood Duck and was simply amazed. On her next call, she berated me for failing to paint one of these feathered miracles. “Why are you wasting time painting all those other birds before painting one of these?” she chided. So, for Freddy‘s enjoyment and hopefully yours too, this is Freddy’s Bird.

Planning and preparing for this work, I looked at literally hundreds of photos. The same question nagged me throughout my study. What, in an evolutionary sense, accounted for the Wood Duck patterns and colors? Certainly, camouflage wasn’t the answer. I finally turned to David Sibley’s recent book of illustrations and amazing facts of and about the bird world and found the explanation.* It’s all the women’s fault, i.e., Wood Duck women. (Sounds like a song.)

Apparently, the rule in the Wood Duck world is, and forgive me if this seems crass: Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. The drakes have no role or responsibility in raising their offspring beyond the act of fertilization. Therefore, when the hens study the parade of glamour-draped drakes, they are never peering deeper than the cover. 

So, evolutionarily speaking, the males are in a constant race to standout from their competitors and the only thing that counts is fantastical plumage. Sibley further shares that the genetic secret of one male’s aesthetic flows to his male offspring and the hen’s preferences for glorious color is also genetically passed to her female offspring. Thus, the rules for the never-ending pageant are set in advance for the next generation.

“But I’m strong,” said the drake.
“But I’m fast,” said his neighbor.
“But I’m very smart,” said the next.
Nature said, “No matter.”

*What It’s Like to Be A Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds Are Doing and Why, 2020.