"we're ducks without feathers"

An excerpt from a very anthropomorphic reflection on the Muscovy Ducks of Lowdermilk Park in Naples, Florida, as published in the Our World section of naplesnews.com on 09/18/2006:

I didn’t see anything too outlandish about the ducks that humans weren’t guilty of as well. We beg for food. We crowd out native species. We create excessive fecal matter. On a molecular level, the similarities are even more pronounced. Dr. Jeffrey Marcus, assistant professor in the biology department at Western Kentucky University, pointed out that the cellular biochemistry of both Muscovy Ducks and people is almost identical. For instance, in looking at a random strand of duck mitochondria, which controls the conversion of food we eat into energy that the body can use, Marcus found that the genetic sequence of ducks is roughly 77 percent the same as humans. "In the grand scheme of things, we’re ducks without feathers, wings, or beaks," Marcus said. In returning to that first day at Lowdermilk Park, I guess I saw a reflection of myself in that socially inept duck. And DNA analysis aside, maybe we all have a little Muscovy in us – awkwardly wandering around the earth, invading people’s personal space in search of fulfillment and looking for that one person who will accept us.