Duck/Legends

"Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim.''" "''What's a duck?"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker

Ducks were a type of waterfowl that could be found on several different planets throughout the galaxy, notably Naboo.

Anatomy
Ducks were a species of non-sentient birds that evolved on Naboo, a planet in the Mid Rim. They had broad and elongated bodies, with a relatively long neck and a broad bill. They also had two legs set far back on the body and a pair of short, pointed wings. At least one race of ducks had brown-speckled plumage. They could be seen swimming on the Solleu River, a river that ran through Theed, the capital city of Naboo. Their planet was also home to other waterfowl species, the quadducks and the pelikki.

Ducks in culture
"If we can't get the shield generator fixed, we'll be sitting ducks."

- Captain Quarsh Panaka

As ducks were widespread in the galaxy, they were incorporated in several idiomatic expressions in Galactic Basic Standard, including "sitting duck." The ship known as the Dusty Duck was presumably also named for these animals. However, not all residents of the galaxy were familiar with ducks, especially in some of the provincial regions or on dry, arid planets of the galaxy, like Tatooine. Skywalker curiously asked what a duck was.

Behind the scenes
Ducks were first mentioned in the 1977 novelization of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster. They were given an entry in the now defunct Databank of StarWars.com, which stated that ducks appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. However, the birds seen in that movie were later retconned into pelikki, a related, if different species in The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary. Nonetheless, the visual dictionary still mentions the ducks as part of Naboo's wildlife, meaning that the old Databank entry remains valid for the most part.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * ''Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Republic 62: No Man's Land
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
 * Star Wars 17: Crucible
 * Star Wars Annual 1: The Long Hunt
 * Star Wars: Dark Forces
 * Star Wars 52: To Take The Tarkin
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract
 * Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract