I dont' know if it is true or not, but here is the story I was told. 

John Harris's great-great-grandfather, who designed the original Wood Duck, would hang them from the rafters of his dry goods store, to earn a little extra folding money selling them to his customers.  As a Southerner, and someone who cared deeply about the safety of the patrons, whenever John heard the bell ringing as a customer entered, he would holler out from the back, "Ah would duck if Ah was you!!".  This was later shortened to "Ah would duck!", which many mistook for "A Wood Duck".

Again, this may be one of those stories that was changed as it was passed down through the generations, but it seems plausible. But your story sounds even more plausible.

If a wood duck could duck wood...

Seriously (yeah right!),  Camper, the only ones who would have misunderstood would have been the visiting yankees, but a true southerner wouldn't be warning them carpetbaggers anyway. I think Rich's explanation may be a bit more plausible

Laszlo

I guess this explains why my Wood Duck looks so content hanging from the ceiling... thought, since she is hanging up-side down, does that make her a wood bat?  or just a good actor :)

so now I have to figure out the Egret that is keeping her company.