We tell anthropomorphic stories
Tongue in cheek so to speak
Commenting on bird behavior
Supposing they have thoughts
Watching the ducklings in their groups
One set has two males with the female
Guarding the brood passively present
Leaving her to direct the little ones
We never used to see any males involved
Helping to raise their duckling progeny
Keeping them safe from predators
Sharing the weeks of effort with their mate
We construct a backstory to the scene
Proposing that she mated with both of them
Cleverly confusing who fertilized her eggs
Inducing them both to engage in parenting
Not far away along the canal sitting on the bank
A single mother duck has her ducklings clustered
Sitting quietly beside her nestled in a hatchling clutch
When suddenly she takes flight quacking fiercely
Yelling at a male duck nearby skulking in the grass
Before returning quickly to settle beside her brood
And we decide she is annoyed at this deadbeat dad
Who has left her there to raise his offspring alone
One female sadly gets no help at all
While the other still does most of the work
But what we see looks like shifting relations
With the males expected to be more involved
As gender roles in human culture change
It's crazy to think that nature would follow suit
But something is going on with these ducks
As if the females are pushing for equality
