Standard Terms (Waterfowl)

"Terms used by the APA in refrence to waterfowl for showing and breeding."

Abdomen - The underpart of the body from the breast to the stern.

Anatidae - Ducks, geese, swans and their subfamilies.

Anatinae - The duck branch of the Anatidae family.

Angel Wing - Slipped Wing.

Anserinae - The goose branch of the Anatidae family.

Arboreal - Living in or frequenting trees.

Axillars - The long, innermost feathers near the juncture of the wing and body. Usually three to five in number. They close the space between the secondaries and the body when the bird is in flight.

Back - The upper surface of a fowl betwen the shoulders and the uropygium.

Band - A narrow strip or stripe on the plumage of the contrasting colors.

Bean - A raised, hard bean - shaped protuberance on the tip of the upper mandible of a waterfowl.

Bib - A contrasting color area in some breeds of ducks, covering the upper breast and lower neck.

Bill - The horny formation projecting from the front of the head of waterfowl, consisting of an upper and lower mandible which form the forward mouth parts.

Bow - The upsweep of the keel on the breast, giving resemblance to the bow on a boat.

Cap - The area overlaying the crown or top of the skull: the plumage covering the top of the head.

Carnucles - The fleshly protuberance on the naked portions of the head, face, and neck of the Muscovy ducks.

Cere - The bare membranes covering the bill, knob, lores, and eyelids in waterfowl.

Cheek - The area on the side of the head, above the chin and below the eye, extending from the base of the bill and including the ear region.

Culmen - The top contour of the upper mandible between its point and the skull.

Dewlap - A pendulous growth of skin under the rear of the bill and extending onto the throat area.

Down - The body covering of ducklings, the additional layer of feathering that serves to keep waterfowl warm and dry.

Drake - A male duck.

Duck - Generally any member of the Anatinae Family.

Duckling - A baby duck.

Eclipse Molt - The more somber, dull plumage acquired by drakes after the breeding season.

Feral - Wild, untamed, not domesticated.

Fluted - Channelled, plaited, wrinkled or grooved.

Gander - A male goose, adult if over one year of age, young if under one year.

Genotype - Transmittable characters not evident by exterior appearance.

Goose - Generally, any member of the sub family.

Anserinae - Specifically, a female specimen of the domestic geeese.

Gosling- Young geese up until feathers have completely replaced their down.

Horny - Horn-like substance such as the bill or the knob in some breeds of geese.

Keel  - 1.) In ducks, the deep, pendant fold of skin suspended from the entire under side of the body, including the breast and abdomen. 2.) In geese, the word "abdomen" is used to distinguish the posterior portion of the underbody from the keel, hence the keel in geese is the loose, pendant fold skin suspended from the under part of the body in front of the legs.

Keel Bone - The breast bone or sternum.

Khaki - a light brown or tan color.

Kinked Neck - A deformed neck with an obvious crook.

Knob - The horny protuberance at the juncture of the head and upper bill in African and Chinese Geese.

Lamella - Tooth like serrations on the inner edges and roof of the bill of ducks ane geese.

Lobe - Either one or two folds of the skin that hang from the abdomen of many domestic geese.

Lores - The space between the eye and the upper edge of the bill.

Mature - When a bird is old enough to reproduce.

Melanic - Dark pigmentation, refers to skin color or plumage color.

Metallic -A tendency to a metallic tinge or hue overlaying a required color.

Nuptial Plumage - Plumage acquired by drakes following the eclipse molt: plumage of the drake prior to and during the breeding season.

Old - Refers to ducks and geese over one year of age.

Parson's or Pope's Nose - The fleshy and bony prominence at the posterior extremity of a fowl's body from which the tail feathers grow. It contains the free caudal vertebrae and the pygostyle ( the plate of bone which forms the posterior end of the vertebral column in most fowl.)

Paunch - Pendulous folds of flesh and skin suspended from the abdomen of geese.

Pinion - The distal or outer segment of the wing of a fowl.

Pinion Feathers - The feathers growing from the pinion, i.e., the flights or primaries.

Pinioned - The surgical removal of the point of the wing at the outer joint. (stops flight ability)

Scapulars- The larger feathers emerging from the region of the shoulders.

Scoop Bill -A concave depression in the top of the bill of waterfowl, a disqualification.

Sex Feathers - The two or three top feathers in the tail of a drake or male duck which curve upward and forward and by which sex in ducks are distinguished (except in the Muscovy ducks).

Slipped Wing - Applies to defects in the manner of folding of primary feathers and carriage of the primary section of the wing. Individual feathers may overlap in reverse order, i.e., over instead of under each other from outer to inner, or there may be a permanent tendency for entire section to be held outside secondaries instead of under: either phase or both is a disqualification, Sometimes referred to as angel wing.

Speculum - A lustrous distinctively colored area of the wing of ducks.

Tertials - Flight feathers on the inner or body side of the wing of ducks.

Unbalanced - Fuller or heavier on one side than on a corresponding side.

Web - The stout web (membranes) between the toes of all Anatidae. Also a term applied to the exposed barbed parts of feathers.

Wry Paunch - A paunch disclosing heavier development on one side than on the corresponding opposite side, a fault best observed from the rear.