#Partial Answer:
Adding to the @GarethMcCaughan's ♦ answer, could another hidden word be
TEAL?
Less erratic the challenge, but words you must spot; tedious, frivolous, dumbfounded plot
Less erratic the challenge, but words you must spot; tedious, frivolous, dumbfounded plot
If you get the first two letters of tedious, frivolous, dumbfounded, you can get a secret message.
A teal is a freshwater duck; the definition of a type of duck known as a TEAL.
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This message is less erratic because there is an obvious pattern here once found. A way to find this pattern is to look at the following words: less, erratic, and challenge. As highlighted in bold, they each have two of the same letters, hinting out this pattern.
Approaching the end, but head to the west; Indians have hints, at puzzles, the best.
Approaching the end, but head to the west; Indians have hints, at puzzles, the best.
@GarethMcCaughan most likely figured out the hidden duck in this passage, but
could another one be
The INDIAN RUNNER?
The word "hints" sounds like "sprints" which might refer to running; the word erratic sounds like erect and this duck stands erect (like penguins); the word dumbfounded sounds like domestic and this duck is a breed of Anas platyrhynchos domesticus.
Black belly, white face, solve this with grace; prefix to scar, the suffix bled in a race.
Black belly, white face, solve this with grace; prefix to scar, the suffix bled in a race.
This might be a reference to Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure: Magic Duck. The word solve sounds like Sophia and the line also contains the word grace; the name Rosie sounds like roses, which are red (like scars and blood).