History Main / PenguinsAreDucks

* The [[https://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/%C5%8Ctori-Sama Ōtori-sama]] (which are the duck spirits) in Anime/SpiritedAway resemble penguins with their round, chubby bodies.

* The duck spirits in Anime/SpiritedAway resemble penguins.

* The duck spirits in "Anime/SpiritedAway" resemble penguins.

* The duck spirits in Spirited Away resemble penguins.

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

* The website Debate.com (sadly defunct now) had [[https://www.debate.org/opinions/are-penguins-ducks a debate]] on whether or not penguins actually are ducks. "No" won, but not by much. Those who claimed "yes" cited all sorts of reasons why penguins are the same as ducks, most of which involved hilarious InsaneTrollLogic. Arguments include: because they evolved similarly because you can't say otherwise unless you've actually seen a penguin in real life, or even simply because they're both birds.

* The website Debate.com has [[https://www.debate.org/opinions/are-penguins-ducks a debate]] on whether or not penguins actually are ducks. "No" is winning, but not by much. Those who claim "yes" cite all sorts of reasons why penguins are the same as ducks, most of which involve hilarious InsaneTrollLogic. Arguments include: because they evolved similarly because you can't say otherwise unless you've actually seen a penguin in real life, or even simply because they're both birds.

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[[quoteright:300:[[Animation/ScamperThePenguin https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scamper_the_penguin.png]]]]
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Penguins in fiction tend to be given attributes of ducks due to the historical unfamiliarity of penguins. Since penguins are both waterbirds and considered exotic to either writers and/or audiences, work creators tend to substitute in attributes from better-known, more familiar animals. Subtrope of InformedSpecies.

In terms of Linnaean taxonomy, penguins and ducks are only together up until Aves, the class that all birds belong to. When you get to the next lowest classification, order, that's where they split. Ducks are in the order Anseriformes with other waterfowl like geese and swans, while penguins are in the order Sphenisciformes. In terms of cladistics, penguins and ducks are similarly very distant relatives; they are together up to the Neognathae infraclass, which contains all modern birds short of the most basal ones.[[note]]Ratites such as cassowaries, emus, kiwis, ostriches, rheas, and tinamous, all comprising the sister infraclass, Paleognathae.[[/note]] Their lineage split during the Late Cretaceous when non-avian dinosaurs still ruled the world. Millions of years ago. They are so long-diverged that ducks are more closely related to chickens than to penguins, and penguins are closer to albatrosses than to ducks.[[note]]For comparison, humans and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsier tarsiers]] (let alone monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, chimps, etc.) are closer cousins than ducks and penguins are; the primate suborder Haplorhini, which groups humans and tarsiers, arose millions of years ''after'' Pangalloanserae (which includes ducks) and Neoaves (which includes penguins) diversified away from each other.[[/note]] Nonetheless, a real-life animal did approach this trope: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambolinetta Bambolinetta,]]'' a flightless wing-propelled duck occupying a similar niche to penguins.

Subtrope of ArtisticLicenseOrnithology, InformedSpecies, EverythingsBetterWithPenguins, and CartoonPenguin. Compare AllFlyersAreBirds, ZebrasAreJustStripedHorses, WhiteTailedReindeer, and AllAnimalsAreDogs. May overlap with FlyingFlightlessBird if the penguin is shown flying.

Subtrope of ArtisticLicenseOrnithology, InformedSpecies, and EverythingsBetterWithPenguins. Compare AllFlyersAreBirds, ZebrasAreJustStripedHorses, WhiteTailedReindeer, and AllAnimalsAreDogs. May overlap with FlyingFlightlessBird if the penguin is shown flying.

Fictional penguins may have more rounded beaks like a duck's bill while real penguins have sharp beaks. Fictional penguins might [[IncorrectAnimalNoise make quacking sounds]], when in reality they do [[https://youtu.be/BVMzjiOUpZo calls or squawks]] -- Emperor penguins have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Haxy5PvCuk a very distinctive call]] that can be heard for miles, and is probably the most recognisable noise produced by any penguin species, while African penguins are nicknamed "jackass penguins" because [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkZsTzbiryU their calls]] sound remarkably like the braying of a donkey. Penguins in fiction also tend to have orange, flat webbed feet with no claws, much like a duck's feet.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penguin_71.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Penguins typically have variations of pointed beaks. So... why don't these ones?[[labelnote:Clockwise from top left]][[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland Bumpty]], [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Opus]], a ''VideoGame/ClubPenguin'' penguin, and WesternAnimation/{{Pingu}}.[[/labelnote]]]]

In terms of Linnaean taxonomy, penguins and ducks are only together up until Aves, the class that all birds belong to. When you get to the next lowest classification, order, that's where they split. Ducks are in the order Anseriformes with other waterfowl like geese and swans, while penguins are in the order Sphenisciformes. In terms of cladistics, penguins and ducks are similarly very distant relatives; they are together up to the Neognathae infraclass, which contains all modern birds short of the most basal ones.[[note]]Ratites such as cassowaries, emus, kiwis, ostriches, rheas, and tinamous, all comprising the sister infraclass, Paleognathae.[[/note]] Their lineage split during the Late Cretaceous when non-avian dinosaurs still ruled the world. Millions of years ago. They are so long-diverged that ducks are more closely related to chickens than to penguins, and penguins are closer to albatrosses than to ducks.[[note]]For comparison, humans and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsier tarsiers]] (let alone monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, chimps, etc.) are closer cousins than ducks and penguins are; the primate suborder Haplorhini, which groups humans and lemurs, arose millions of years ''after'' Pangalloanserae (which includes ducks) and Neoaves (which includes penguins) diversified away from each other.[[/note]] Nonetheless, a real-life animal did approach this trope: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambolinetta Bambolinetta,]]'' a flightless wing-propelled duck occupying a similar niche to penguins.

In terms of Linnaean taxonomy, penguins and ducks are only together up until Aves, the class that all birds belong to. When you get to the next lowest classification, order, that's where they split. Ducks are in the order Anseriformes with other waterfowl like geese and swans, while penguins are in the order Sphenisciformes. In terms of cladistics, penguins and ducks are similarly very distant relatives; they are together up to the Neognathae infraclass, which contains all modern birds short of the most basal ones.[[note]]Ratites such as cassowaries, emus, kiwis, ostriches, rheas, and tinamous, all comprising the sister infraclass, Paleognathae.[[/note]] Their lineage split during the Late Cretaceous when non-avian dinosaurs still ruled the world. Millions of years ago. They are so long-diverged that ducks are more closely related to chickens than to penguins, and penguins are closer to albatrosses than to ducks.[[note]]For comparison, humans and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsier tarsiers]] (let alone monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, chimps, etc.) are closer cousins than ducks and penguins are; the primate suborder Haplorhini, which groups humans and lemurs, arose millions of years ''after'' ducks and penguins diversified away from each other.[[/note]] Nonetheless, a real-life animal did approach this trope: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambolinetta Bambolinetta,]]'' a flightless wing-propelled duck occupying a similar niche to penguins.