How Long Do Ducks Live? Brilliant Bird Facts Revealed For Kids

Ducks that are kept for egg production will be able to deliver optimal results for a couple of years only.

You've probably seen ducks with their absolutely adorable webbed feet paddling and swimming in your local pond, but have you ever wondered how long do ducks live? Let’s find out by reading the rest of the article!

Ducks aren't as exotic as some other animals and birds, however, they do have an interesting and unique biology. Larger breeds of duck have the lowest life expectancies, seldom living past five to seven years of age. Ducks have an average life span of 5-10 years, depending on the breed, although ducks can live considerably longer, up to 20 years if well cared for and given a good diet.

Duck is the common term for a variety of waterfowl species. Waterfowl include ducks and geese, as well as swans. Ducks are smaller and have shorter necks than swans and geese, all of which are part of the same family. Ducks are classified into three primary categories according to their distinctive behaviors: dabbling ducks (shallow-water), diving ducks, and perching ducks. They have superb vision, and because their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, they have a nearly 340-degree field of view. Perhaps the most impressive fact about ducks is that they have color vision! Male ducks are termed as drakes, females ducks as hens, and young ducks as ducklings although it really doesn't make much difference which one you spot since all ducks are adorable!

So, how long do ducks live in reality? Let’s find out by reading the remaining article. After reading about the factors that affect the lifespan of a duck, why not find out the answers to how long do Pekin ducks live and how long do doves live?

Different Duck Species And Their Lifespans

The majority of duck breeds are descended from the wild mallard, Anas platyrhyncos, with a tiny percentage, descended from the Muscovy ducks, Cairina moschata. Duck breeds are often recognized and defined by a national agency, such as the Ministry of Agriculture. Duck types classified according to their characteristics are:

Dabbling Duck: Dabblers are ducks that tip up to forage, digging amid shallow water and muck in search of plants and insects. Mallard ducks are by far the most popular dabbling duck, but northern pintails, American wigeons, and a variety of teals are also dabbling ducks. Their average life span is 5-10 years.

Diving Duck: Diving ducks are fast swimmers who dive deep below the water's surface in search of food and they feed on fish, insects, and aquatic plants. These ducks like to stay in the water and may be awkward and clumsy on land. In addition, they must build enough speed to fly off from the water's surface. Amongst the diving duck species are scaups, goldeneyes, canvasbacks, and redheads. The average life span for diving duck species is 15 years.

Eider: These sea ducks can be found in the Arctic environment. Eiders are widely renowned for their luxuriant down and excellent insulating capabilities that protect them from the harsh cold. Eider duck species comprise the common, spectacled, Steller's, and king eider. When he was discovered in eastern Canada, the oldest common eider was a male that was at least 22 years and seven months old!

Goldeneye: Goldeneye ducks are diving ducks that are recognized by their big, spherical heads with an iridescent gleam and are named for their brilliant golden eyes. They nest in tree holes and have striking black and white feathers. There are just two species of goldeneye: common goldeneye and Barrow's, however, buffleheads are often classed as a kind of goldeneye. Males typically live up to the age of 11 years and females up to 12 years of age, although one common goldeneye lived up to 15 years of age.

Merganser: The most distinguishing characteristic of these small, thin, streamlined ducks is their narrow, serrated, hooked beak. Mergansers are the only duck species that feed on a substantial amount of fish and feed on similar things on a regular basis. These ducks include the common, hooded, and red-breasted mergansers. In the wild, the hooded merganser has an average lifetime of 11-12 years. In captivity, their average lifespan is 13.4 years. The oldest common merganser ever recorded was a female that lived for at least 13 years and five months.

Perching Duck: Perching ducks have large talons that help them maintain a firm grasp with their webbed feet when perching. They may nest hundreds of feet from the ground and can often be spotted perching in trees around forested rivers and other nesting locations with appropriate trees. Muscovy ducks, pink-eared, wood, and mandarin ducks are well-known and famous perching ducks. Perching ducks have a life span of 5-10 years.

Scoter: Scoters are hefty sea ducks with black feathers and inflated, vividly colored, and patterned bills, despite their rather flat body color. The most frequent scoter duck species include black, surf, common, white-winged, and velvet scoters. The average lifespan is 8-16 years.

Sea-Duck: Sea-ducks are seabirds that live in coastal areas. During the breeding season and migration, they might travel further inland, and accidental sightings are common. These large birds have unique glands that allow them to withstand seawater without becoming dehydrated. Long-tailed ducks, golden eyes, eiders, scoters, and mergansers are all sea-duck species. They usually survive for around two to three years, hence they die very young.

Stifftail: The stifftails are properly named diving ducks due to factors including their spiky stiff tails, which they employ as nimble rudders when swimming. These ducks have colorful beaks and lightweight bodies. Amongst stiff-tailed duck species are the ruddy duck, masked duck, and blue-billed duck. In the wild, stiff-tailed ducks such as ruddy ducks have a maximum lifespan of 13 years.

Teal: Teals are a dabbling duck breed with brilliantly colored, unique plumage, featuring excellent speculum coloration. In relation to tipping up, these ducks prefer to eat on the water's surface, yet they frequently tip up. Teals are famous among waterfowl hunters, and they are actively controlled as game birds. Teal species include cinnamon, green-winged, blue-winged, and silver teal. Blue-winged teal can live for up to 17 years if they survive to maturity.

Whistling-Duck: These tropical ducks have long legs and tails in comparison to normal compact duck dimensions, and sometimes may be misunderstood for tiny geese. Among the whistling-duck species are the black-bellied, fulvous, and white-faced whistling-ducks. The black-bellied whistling duck has a lifespan of around six to eight years in the wild, although it may survive for more than 10 years in captivity. The oldest known specimen was discovered in Louisiana and lived for around 10 years and seven months.

Domestic Duck: Domestic ducks are not wild creatures, but rather runaways from fisheries, gardens, and zoos who are occasionally raised as a pet. Such ducks gather in mixed flocks in cities and suburb ponds. Their ambiguous plumage, a vast range of sizes, and mottled colors indicate a significant degree of hybridization with various domestic as well as wild ducks. Domestic or pet ducks like Pekin ducks have long necks and lengthy bodies. Pekin ducks have an average lifespan of 10 years or lower.

How long do pet ducks live?

We all want our new pets to be around for a long while, so this is arguably a reasonable question. Gift baskets with newborn ducklings are quite popular. A pet duck lays eggs on a more regular basis than hens.

A pet duck has a long lifespan and deserves to live in a happy, healthy environment. Pet ducks are extremely resilient, cheap, and simple to care for with minimum diet restrictions. Pet ducks have an average life expectancy of 15 to 20 years and are gentle and entertaining as a pet for the time that they live. The lifespan is the same as that of neighborhood ducks.

How long do ducks live in the wild?

Ducks in the wild are utilized for hunting. The mallard, sometimes known as the wild duck, is a dabbling duck.

They live in the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. They have been brought to live in New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. Mallard ducks can live just three to five years in the wild as they face dangers from predators and other animals in the wild.

What is the longest living duck?

Humans have tamed just two wild duck species: the mallard and the Muscovy duck. The great majority of domestic duck breeds descended long ago from mallards and were produced via selective breeding of other domestic birds.

A mallard duck shot by a hunter in 2008 had a tag on its leg that indicated it had been tagged by scientists in 1981, making it at least 27 years old, as well as the oldest reported mallard on record. That bird was indeed a fortunate duck, though, because the mallard's typical life expectancy in the wild is just three to five years and approximately a decade in captivity.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how long do ducks live then why not take a look at where do ducks sleep, or long tailed duck facts.