The water-loving, herbivorous ducks and geese are quite an ancient group that reaches back to the Late Cretaceous. After their inception these fowl spread quickly across the surface of both our worlds and can now be found on every continent but Antarctica. For the most part, specworld anseriforms resemble their Home-Earth counterparts, but some interesting distinctions can be drawn.
ANATIDAE (Regular Ducks)[]
You know, regular ol' ducks and geese. However, there are a few species of ducks and geese that are not found back on Home Earth, but they can be found exclusively to the world of Spec.
GIGANATIDAE (Gigaducks)[]
The giganatids are whopping great flightless anseriforms endemic to Aoteroa. Flightless insular ducks and geese are not new and have evolved multiple times on Home-Earth (including our timeline's New Zealand). However, with the notable exception of the dromornithids and gastornithids, few have reached the prodigious size and sheer weirdness of the giganatids, the major group of terrestrial herbivores on Spec's Aotearoa. These massive, flightless ducks appear to be the descendants of basal flying anseriforms and are closely allied to the anseranatids and anhimids (Australia's magpie geese and South America's screamers).
The plumage of most gigaducks has become hair-like and shaggy whilst the wings have been reduced to stubby, almost useless vestiges. Most species have long, graceful necks and strengthened neck vertebrae, allowing their heads to be raised far above their bodies. Gigaducks also have a therizinosaur-like pot belly, the result of a very long gut and large gizzard. Their feet have lost all trace of webbing, though most species walk in the characteristic duck-waddle when on the move. About a dozen species roam across the larger islands of Aotearoa, ranging in size from small, grouse-like forms to enormous giraffe-like browsers.
Lawnmoa (Giganas montanus)[]
Lawnmoa, Giganas montanus (Aotearoa)
The strikingly marked lawnmoas (Giganas montanus) are denizens of alpine grassland where they live in pairs or small flocks. Relentlessly, they crop the grass with their square-tipped bills that make the mountainsides almost look like a freshly mowed lawn. The putting-green-like atmosphere is, however, somewhat spoiled by the numerous piles of rank smelling poo produced by the lawnmoas.
Big Yellow Gigaduck (Megalornis sesameiensis)[]
Big yellow gigaduck, Megalornis sesameiensis (Aotearoa, South Island)
The big yellow gigaduck is the tallest avian on Specworld and the largest terrestrial animal in Aotearoa. These enormous birds, which can weigh in at nearly half a metric ton, slowly plod through the forests of South Island, methodically plucking leaves and fruit. They are generally found as mated pairs or small family groups, keeping in touch with loud and disturbingly Gojira-like bellows and bleats ("Aiiiiiiiuuuurrrrrrgh!!!"). Their size renders the adult big yellows practically immune to attack, but infant mortality is high. A slightly smaller species, the big white gigaduck (Megalornis albus), lives on North Island.
Disco Duck (Ludicrus cleesei)[]
Watching this gangly creature, with its bright-pink splayed limbs, long slender neck and bold coloration, one cannot help but feel that there is something distinctly wrong with the disco duck (Ludicrus cleesei). Appearing to be a hasty "garage-kit" attempt by the Anseriformes to produce an fast antilopine herbivore, the disco duck combines the long legs of a runner with a duck's waddling gait and its nomenclatural link to the Minister of Silly Walks is no coincidence.
Discoes form flocks of up to 30 birds in lowland woods and grasslands. They feed on a wide range of vegetation including grasses, leaves and berries. They are the most sexually dimorphic of the gigaducks, with the males possessing more ornate head crests and bright yellow ceres. Unlike other gigaducks, they are polygamous breeders. The males attempt to entice mates with a striking dance routine that has led to their common name.
When pursued, the disco simply picks up the pace of its usual "silly walking". The lower legs frantically rotate in a flurry of pink as the rest of the body jiggles and bounces with each step save for the head and the neck weaving to and fro to maintain its position in space. All this activity is accompanied by the birds' loud, whooping alarm call. The result is, appropriately enough, ludicrous, but a disco running at full speed is quite capable of outpacing a human or a spectacled gobbler, the species' primary predator.
,=Megalornis sesameiensis (Big yellow gigaduck)
,=Megalornis=|
,=| `=Megalornis albus (Big white gigaduck)
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=Anseriformes=| `=Giganas montanus (Lawnmoa)
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`=Ludicrus cleesei (Disco duck)