The Deerduck

Wild Tyrduck

Status: Critically endangered

Domestic Tyrduck varities

Status: Least Concern

The deerduck is the last remaining member of the family Quadruavis - a group of true quadruped birds. Unlike the unrelated griffinches, deerduck completely lack the ability to fly and have adapted to a completely quadrupedal form of locomotion. Fossil evidence indicates that at one point of time, other quadruped birds were present across the archipelago. However, the arrival of mammals led to their disappearance - save for the ancestors of the deerduck on Tyrkimani and its companion island the Anchor. 

The islands of Tyrkimani and the Anchor are tall volcanic peaks with sizeable areas of fertile soil which have been raised due to seismic activity. Due to the tall and sharp cliffs of these islands, and the presence, quadrupedal mammal arrivals had a difficult time colonizing them until the arrival of humans. This allowed the last quadruped birds to have a single sanctuary in a world of new threats. Due to their isolation, deerduck did not have to contend with competition. In their absence, the deerduck population grew tame and large, although not much larger than a male wild turkey. Free from terrestrial predators, Deerduck were only predated by avian predators like the Mossfell Sea Eagle.

Fossils of other quadruped birds do not demonstrate the same degree of specialization into a quadruped form as the contemporary deerduck. Several millennia of isolation on the islands has enabled the animals to fully adapt to a quadruped lifestyle. The deerduck forelimb convergently resembles that of a horse, with a sturdy arm balanced on a single phalange. The wings of their ancestors have flattened and spread into two long tracts. On the top of this limb, a thickened set of special "hoof feathers" forms a rudimentary hoof. This form of arm enables deerducks to gallop across the grasslands and forests of their home. A long neck and bill enable deerducks to eat a variety of vegetation from water plants, to grasses, to grains. Beyond aerial predators, the largest threat to deerduck is the cold winter. Unable to fly, deerducks are covered in heat-retaining down which protects them during the winter months.

Wild deerduck males are territorial and defend a harem of 2-10 females from other male deerduck. Wild deerduck males generally present with white heads, red snoods, and fleshy neck pouches which help to convey their dominance. Deerducks are capable of breeding all year round, but will breed primarily during spring. When conditions are adequate, females will lay a clutch of two to five eggs. Chicks are grey and downy. They will adopt an adult color, but will retain a fuzzy down for their entire life. An interesting quirk of their evolutionary past, deerduck chicks will initally walk on their hind legs during their first few weeks of life, but will eventually adopt a quadropedial form of locomotion as they grow larger.

Relationship with Humans

When Norse settlers landed on Tyrkimani and scaled its great cliffs, they were surprised to encounter the tame ancestors of the modern domesticated deerduck aboard "Tyr's Boat". Initially called Tyrgas (Tyr's Geese), the settlers quickly discovered a multitude of uses for the large, fuzzy birds. Amazed by their docile nature, several deerduck were translocated from isolated plateau of Tyrkimani to larger settlements such as Vinstrihof on Gasmensyi. Due to their tame nature, deerduck were quickly domesticated and several breeds were created for their sweet-tasting meat, eggs, and fluffy down. 

When English settlers encountered the Viardrmen, they remarked on their bizarre livestock as a strange fusion of deer and duck. This eventually led to a corruption of the old name Tyrgas to Tyrduck and finally to deerduck. Even as the Viardrmen culture and population declined across the islands, English settlers took a keen liking to the livestock they left behind. During the English colonial period several recognizable modern breeds such as the Galdhen, Crested Greencap, and Penzance White  were bred into existence.

In the modern day, domestic deerduck are a common farm animal across the archipelago and are still bred for their meat, eggs, and down. Deerduck are included in many traditional Mossfell dishes such as thyme-roasted deerduck breast, and deerduck-pot-pie. The popularity of deerduck meat has also begun to increase in the public conscious as some fast food restaurants on the Mossfell Islands will provide seasonal fried deerduck sandwiches.

While domesticated deerduck populations have boomed, the wild deerduck has almost completely gone extinct. Due to their tameness, wild deerduck lack an instinctive fear of terrestrial predators and perhaps ironically, domesticated deerduck are actually more perceptive and capable of fleeing threats. When the guano mining settlement of Braxtonburg was established on Tyrkimani in 1872, two male cats were brought as a pets. The cats, Twombly and Mr. Whiskers, escaped their owners and scaled the steep cliffs overlooking the settlement. In the span of 10 years, the two cats wiped out the population of wild deerduck on the island. Later escaped cats would ensure that Tyrkimani was no longer the safe haven for deerduck.

As of 2022, the only wild deerduck population is located on the small island of the Anchor to south of Tyrkimani. While this population is more accustomed to life on the grassly slopes than the deerducks that once inhabited Tyrkimani's forests, they are the best hope for restoring the former range of the deerduck. Conservation efforts to remove feral cats from Tyrkimani are in process and will likely complete within the next five years, hopefully allowing for the return of this odd duck.

On Salt-Sprayed Cliffs

The salty air swirled everywhere. Beyond the blackened cliffs, where the white seabirds danced in the air, great waves crashed and lifted their aura to the golden grasslands of home. To the little gray chicks, playing and picking at each other, the smell was as comforting as the warm fuzz of their mother. As they chirped sweetly, their mother led them to a small rut between amber stalks of grain. Her mate was there, on the lookout for brown wings in the sky and ready to protect his family. 

But today there was no threat. Blue skies with soft white clouds billowed above. The little chicks leaped and chirped and jumped on each other with tiny hooves, tiring themselves out as the sun drifted into the serene deep of the western ocean. When twilight finally came, the little chicks nuzzled their long necks against their parents and folded their bodies into gray loaves. Their sweet chirps ceased as they fell into the comfortable slumber that only those in true safety ever feel.