drakes

Drakes is a term with two principal modern uses. In biology and everyday language, a drake is a male duck. The word is used to distinguish the male from the female, which is called a hen. In many duck species, drakes display striking plumage during the breeding season, a form of sexual dimorphism that helps attract mates. Juvenile ducks are typically referred to as ducklings, regardless of sex, until they reach maturity.

In ornithology, the distinction between drakes and hens is routinely made to describe adult males and females. Some species exhibit eclipse plumage, a temporary, drab appearance of males after breeding while they molt. Behavior-wise, drakes may differ from hens in vocalizations, feeding, and nesting roles, though these differences vary widely among species.

The term drake also appears in folklore and fantasy. In this sense, a drake is a dragon-like creature and is often used interchangeably with dragon in popular fiction. The exact traits assigned to drakes vary by culture and author; some depictions portray drakes as winged and fire-breathing, while others describe them as smaller, wingless, or serpentine. In fantasy literature and role-playing games, drakes are typically presented as a distinct type of dragon or dragon-adjacent creature, occupying a middle ground in size and power between humans and true dragons.

Etymology centers on two strands: the animal sense deriving from everyday English usage for a male duck, and the mythic sense tracing back to dragon lore in Old English and related languages. The dual usage leads to occasional ambiguity, particularly in popular culture.