At 01:05 PM 1/23/96 -0800, you wrote:
>We've seen this behavior before, too, but we've noticed a peculiarity.
>When a male mallard "forces copulation" with a female mallard, she goes
>through contortions while excessively washing herself. It almost seems
>as if the female mallard is trying to wash away the bad effects of the
>assault. ....

The males do that as well. I haven't been able to figure out the reasoning
yet. They do seem desparate to clean themselves, though.

Peggi



Peggi Rodgers
peggir at ori.org
Eugene, OR
"A bird does not sing because it has an
answer, It sings because it has a song"