Why do ducks wag their tails?

Many people love to watch dogs because of their seemingly funny behavior. Some people even love ducks so much that they have them as pets. One of the most endearing duck behaviors is the wagging of their tails. Many people find it amusing when they see ducks walking around and wagging their tails. Aside from being amused though, there are also people who wonder why some ducks seem to wag their tails a lot. When the animal behavior experts are asked, many would point the tail-wagging as some kind of mating behavior. This is especially true for some duck species wherein the males do the tail wagging while in water. In Mallard ducks for example, the males are known to do some neck shaking and tail wagging while trying to get close to a female duck. Aside from wagging their tails, male Mallard ducks are also known to raise the tips of their wings during the so-called courtship dance.

In the case of ducks that wag their tails while on ground, some people believe that they do it out of joy and excitement. This is especially noticeable when ducks are drinking water from a bucket or have just eaten food. Many people see many ducks in these kinds of situations to be wagging their tales. Food and water is a source of energy and pleasure for many ducks and tail-wagging may simply mean that they are happy with their meal.

For ducks that just came out of the water for example, tail-wagging is literally needed to shake off the water in their feathers. Wagging helps them dry off faster and allow them to do other activities. For some people, the tail-wagging in ducks is simply an effect of nature since ducks literally walk with their tails moving from side to side. This natural movement always make it seem that ducks wag their tails often.