Talk:Indian Runner duck

Flightless

A farmer grazes his ducks in Central Java, completely unconcerned that they might fly off, because they don't fly.

User:Robongio has now repeatedly challenged what is probably the best-known fact about Indian Runner ducks, namely that they do not fly. Every introductory and breeding club text repeats the statement, including multiple reliable sources already cited in the article; and in the case of the breeding clubs, they should certainly know because all their members keep ducks and see them every day. In other words, the challenge is a complete non-starter. If (as with chickens) it is the case that a few individuals are capable of fluttering a short distance, that is "the exception that proves the rule": birds of the breed can't and don't fly. Wild ducks can fly hundreds of kilometres; Indian Runners can't fly out of one's backyard. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:24, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

Indeed, Chiswick Chap! There's some discussion of the genetic transmission of the tendency to take flight in Mallard x Indian Runner cross-bred ducks in this short paper by Reginald Punnett from 1932. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 20:29, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, glad to hear we agree. I guess that's tangential to the discussion but we can certainly mention it in the article. Chiswick Chap (talk) 01:42, 9 May 2024 (UTC)