"Duck in a noose"...not a popular metaphor. I'm convinced there's a link there.
Maybe it is a common saying in another culture...(M.E. e.g.?)
From Islam (1300)
http://www.san.beck.org/AB19-IslamCulture1095-1300.html
God draws you by kindness that may appear like the anger of a noose. …The Duck is too content with water to seek the Simurgh…In the fifth book of the Masnavi Rumi included several stories to illustrate why one should cut down the duck of gluttony, the cock of concupiscence, the peacock of ambition and ostentation, and the crow of bad desires. The story of how Muhammad converted a glutton who drank the milk of seven goats and then made a mess after being locked in a room shows the humility of the prophet in cleaning up the mess himself. He concluded that the infidels eat with seven bellies but the faithful with one. The peacock catches people by displaying itself. Pursuing the vulgar is like hunting a pig; the fatigue is extensive, and it is unlawful to eat it. Love alone is worth pursuing, but how can God be contained in anyone's trap?
Who knows?
Who knows? Doesn't seem to me that waterfowl would favor the mideast much.