Tinplate duck family, 1950s.
Did you know ducklings imprint on the first moving object they see within a critical period of about an hour after hatching, allowing them to learn to identify and follow their parent, and, hopefully, survive?
This moving object is usually their mother, but sometimes ducklings can imprint on other moving things, occasionally even identifying something like a moving ball as their primary caregiver, leading them to experience loneliness or difficulty in finding mates in later life.
Nothing more heartbreaking thinking about a billy-no-mates duckling thinking a tennis ball is its mum. And so nothing more uplifting than seeing this happy trio on your shelf or mantelpiece, mum with two babies in tow. Not a rogue ball in sight.
Mum is approx 12cm in length, babies are approx 6cm.