It seems waterfowl have become a proxy for commentary on bad governance. The Daily Sun reported recently that geese are an early warning system for motorists using the bad roads in Duduza, Ekurhuleni. It seems the birds signal the location of potholes by bathing in them when they are full of water. In May, discontented residents of Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire floated more than 100 rubber ducks in rain-filled potholes, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation. In Belgrade in 2015, Serbian protesters wielded plastic ducks in their fight to stop a waterside development. Earlier in 2017, a video drone flown over Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s properties showed "an expensively renovated 18th-century manor, featuring a pond complete with a duck house". Now large, yellow versions of the fowl are being deployed in pro-democracy rallies. In Serbian slang, "patka" or "duck" also means "fraud", while in Brazil, to pay the duck means to pay for someone else’s mistakes. The I...

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