Wildfowl such as ducks, geese, swans, etc., have a nail on which part of the body?
Beak the family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans) have a nail, a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip of the beak. This shield-shaped structure, which sometimes spans the entire width of the beak, is often bent at the tip to form a hook. It serves different purposes depending on the bird's primary food source. Most species use their nails to dig seeds out of mud or vegetation, while diving ducks use theirs to pry molluscs from rocks. There is evidence that the nail may help a bird to grasp things; species which use strong grasping motions to secure their
Geese in Chinese poetry "yang" force. (Murck, 75). Other birds besides geese are featured in Chinese poetry. Some are mythological, drawn from the vast realms of Chinese mythology and folklore, though they may share features with geese. Others are birds related to geese, such as swans or ducks. A poetic substitution in the course of an allusion has not been uncommon, especially as a poet's own experience intersects with that of an earlier work. Anne Birrell discusses the role of swans (close relatives of geese) versus other birds in several Han dynastic era ballads, contrasting the role of "owls, pigeons, and sparrows", which are