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Animal Themes
Birds
Freshwater

Ducks & Geese

Ducks & Geese
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.96

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    domestic, striking, lining, coastal, hence, splendid, preen, waterproof, vegetation, swimmers, remain, male, apparent, contrary, ensure, eye-catching

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Other Languages
     Spanish: Los Patos y los Gansos

Ducks & Geese   
1     Ducks and geese belong to a bird family called the waterfowl. As their family name suggests, ducks and geese like water very much. Hence, they never stray far from lakes, rivers, estuaries, or inshore coastal water.
 
2     Ducks and geese are accomplished swimmers, thanks to their specially designed outfits and webbed feet. Ducks and geese have a special gland at the base of their tails. That gland, called the preen gland, secretes oil that makes their tail feathers water-resistant. To ensure that their whole bodies -- not just their tails -- remain waterproof, ducks and geese spend a lot of time combing their feathers with their beaks. As ducks and geese use their beaks to rake through their feathers, they spread oil excreted near their tails onto all other feathers.
 
3     In addition to keeping their feathers water-repellent, ducks and geese wear a layer of soft, downy feathers next to their skin. Can you guess what ducks and geese use these downy feathers for? That's right! Downy feathers keep ducks and geese insulated and warm.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
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