Waterfowl

This group gathers Birds subcategory members belonging to the order Anseriformes, the ducks, geese and swans, defined by webbed feet suited to swimming and a broad, often flattened bill used to filter or graze food from water and soft mud. It spans the true geese and swans, generally larger, long-necked grazers of grass and aquatic vegetation that pair for life, and the far more numerous and varied true ducks, among them dabbling ducks that feed at the water's surface or tip forward to reach just below it, diving ducks that submerge fully in search of food, and the seaducks such as the eiders and scoters, which spend much of the year on open coastal water. Many waterfowl species undertake long seasonal migrations between separate breeding and wintering grounds, and several, including the mallard and the greylag goose, are the wild ancestors of familiar domesticated duck and goose breeds.