Circle Duck - [Fearsome Critter]

Circle Duck - [Fearsome Critter] - aka "Ducken" or "Sneeze-Duck", "Mu" 

• About this critter: A Suspicious species of duck-chicken hybrids. They only swim in circles because their right foot isn’t webbed! Drakes are right footed, Hens are left. One side is dark meat, the other is white. They Swim forwards together in a waltz! 🦆

• History: Another Critter mentioned in the “tenderfoot tales” series from (1922-1923) [which also includes the ‘yearns of the big woods’ by ArtChilds (1922-1925.)] - (Note that this one was 'contributor submitted' and was one of the final entries in the series.) - in a nutshell it feels like a silly "just-so" explanation as to why some ducks swim in circles.

Yet another Parallel critter to this critter is the "sneeze duck" which has been told as far back as 1919's "Ma Pettengil' (and likely goes back a bit further orally as there are numerous variants) The book tells of Herman, a German immigrant who is sent on a 'wild goose chase" to hunt several made up creatures and rare game by the farmhands who are just "kidding him" (basically a parallel to the 'snipe hunt')

"...he spent a lot of time down on the crick flat looking for a mu, which is the same as a sneeze-duck, except for the parallel stripes. It has but one foot webbed; so it swims in a circle and can be easy shot by the sportsman, who first baits it with snuff that it will go miles to get... " – ["Ma Pettengil" Harry Leon Wilson, 1919]

of course it should go without saying that Ducks and Chickens cannot breed. (When in captivity, they’ll try sometimes but it usually ends.. violently.) - In 2012 someone in Tuscon AZ hatched a duckling that they thought was a hybrid ‘chicken-duck’ & named it ‘Ducken’ - of course the fiasco actually made local headlines. - Although, the creature was soon proven to simply have a birth deformity by a local bird club. - (in other words, it was just a normal duck with a growth on its head.) - The associated YouTube vid got over 300,000 views! - The Good news is even after all the attention, This “Ducken” seems to have lived a long happy life!!! 

"Ducken" is also the title often given by those who are flabbergasted to see "Muschovy ducks" for the first time :)

This critter of course should not be confused with the similar “Turducken” or the one step further “Cthucken” which are dishes, (and probably critters in their own rights.) (perhaps I’ll draw them for thanksgiving sometime) - (Fun Fact: similar  “franken-dishes” date back to all the way to 1807 (likely earlier tbh!!)

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo thats me!) - Part of my Night parade of 100 Demons - Yokai & Japanese folklore sticker collection, weather resistant 4" Glossy sticker. Check my shop & follow @samkalensky for many more!