User:RM395/Course/Encyclopedia comparisons/rebaduck

Ducks

I chose to compare the Wikipedia article "Duck" to the information about ducks that I found in Encyclopedia Americana. I have raised ducks for my whole life and consider myself knowledgeable on the subject. I found that the encyclopedia article was "better." It included more information that would be helpful to someone who is interested in raising ducks, whereas the Wikipedia article just mostly had general information.

Encyclopedia

The information in the encyclopedia was much more thorough. It contains a lot of information that the Wikipedia article does not. The Wikipedia article doesn't contain information about the height and weight of the average duck, nor does it contain information about the different layers that make up the plumage of a duck. Going along with the plumage, the encyclopedia article gives information about the molting process of males and females. Nowhere in the Wikipedia article does it mention that male ducks are called drakes, which I think is something worth mentioning. The encyclopedia has a section that outlines the different kinds of ducks: whistling ducks, true ducks, river ducks, perching ducks, pochards and sea ducks, just to name a few. I also found that the Wikipedia article didn't mention the fact that ducks migrate. The Wikipedia article has a section about breeding, but it doesn't explain the egg laying pattern of ducks. This information would be important to anyone owning ducks as ducks only lay one egg per day for about fourteen days. Lastly, the encyclopedia article included extensive information about the commercial production of ducks and which breeds are best for eating. I don't approve of the consumption of ducks, by the way.

Wikipedia

The Wikipedia article lacked a lot of the information that the encyclopedia had. However, the Wikipedia article does have several sections that the encyclopedia article does not. The Wikipedia article has a section about cultural references, which includes information about Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. The origin, or etymology of the word "duck" is also included in the Wiki article and so is the scientific classification. I was surprised to find that the encyclopedia article didn't have sections for ecology; considering that ducks are often the victim of oil spills. A section about predators was also included in the Wikipedia article. Communication was also mentioned in the Wiki article, along with the fact that a duck's quack does, in fact, echo. Rebaduck (talk) 02:03, 19 February 2013 (UTC)