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Why duck can float on water but chicken and dove can not float

Why duck can float on water but chicken and  dove can not float

Grade:11

3 Answers

Saurabh Koranglekar
askIITians Faculty 10335 Points
4 years ago
Dear student

Ducks have few adaptations

Interlocking Feathers

Ducks' feathers help them float not just by repelling water, but by trapping air. Their feathers have tiny barbs, which allow them to latch together like Velcro. This creates a balloon-like effect, trapping air between the feathers and the skin, and those air bubbles add to the duck's natural buoyancy. Ducks can release trapped air bubbles at will, which allows them to invert their bodies and submerge their heads while still bobbing at the surface.

Hollow Bones

Like most other birds, ducks have hollow bones that enable them to fly. If their bones were as dense as a human's, they would be too heavy for flight. Their light weight also enables ducks to float more easily, but not at the expense of strength. This is because their bones aren't hollow like a drinking straw, but are rather filled with crosshatched, woven bone material that gives them stability without adding much weight.

Buoyant Bodies

When you hold your breath, your body floats more easily, because the trapped air gives it buoyancy. Ducks are able to float for long periods because of this same principle, but without holding their breath. This is because their bodies are equipped with internal air sacs that store air like balloons, making them extremely buoyant without affecting their ability to breathe.
Arun
25750 Points
4 years ago
Ducks are able to float for long periods because of this same principle, but without holding their breath. This is because their bodies are equipped with internal air sacs that store air like balloons, making them extremely buoyant withiut affecting their ability to breathe.
Vikas TU
14149 Points
4 years ago
Some waxy or oily materials have the property of not being attracted to water. They are called hydrophobic. Have you ever seen a freshly waxed car as it begins to rain? The droplets of water don't wet the surface. Instead they form tall droplets that don't spread. However, if you wet a waxed car with water that has detergent in it, the droplets do spread. Detergent allows water to wet a hydrophobic surface.
Ducks have an oily, hydrophobic substance on their feathers. Water doesn't wet their feathers so the feathers trap air close to the duck. A featherless duck would tend to sink deeply into the water just as people do. Because it has hydrophobic feathers it is much bigger (more volume) while maintaining almost the same weight it would have if it was naked.
A long time ago, I saw an educational film that demonstrated this. A duck was placed in a big tub of water and began swimming happily around (as ducks do).  Then a little bit of dishwashing detergent was added to the tub. When the duck was put back in the tub it struggled, sank and had to be rescued! I don't think the duck was amused.

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