Becoming Functional

Colophon

The animal on the cover of Becoming Functional is a sheldrake duck (Tadorna tadorna), also known as a common shelduck. The scientific name “tadorna” comes from the Celtic for “pied waterfowl” (which is also what shelduck means in 14th century English). The shelduck is widespread throughout Europe and Asia, near coastlines, lakes, rivers, salt marshes, and other water sources.

The word “pied” refers to having two or more different colors, and the sheldrake duck is indeed very colorful. It has a white body, a dark green head and neck, and both black and chestnut patches on the wings and chest. The beak is pinkish-orange, and in males, topped with a knob on the forehead. They are large ducks (closer to the size of a goose) that eat shellfish, aquatic snails, crustaceans, plant matter, and small fish.

During breeding season, shelducks build nests in tree hollows, dense bushes, rock clefts, or abandoned mammal burrows. Most shelduck populations migrate each summer to specific nesting sites. The largest of these is the Wadden Sea near Germany, where over 100,000 birds congregate each year.

Almost as soon as the young have hatched, their parents will depart for moulting grounds, leaving their offspring at a nearby “nursery” in the care of a few adults (usually those who did not breed themselves). These guardians watch over about 20 to 40 ducklings at a time, though the groupings change often. When the colony is approached, the adults give a warning call and fly into the air as decoys, ...