The little duck in several Tom and Jerry shorts is Quacker, also commonly called Little Quacker. He is a recurring duckling character who often becomes involved in Tom’s attempts to catch, trick, or eat him.
Quacker first appeared in the 1950 short Little Quacker. He returned in cartoons including Just Ducky, Downhearted Duckling, Southbound Duckling, That’s My Mommy, Happy Go Ducky, and The Vanishing Duck. Unlike the usually silent Tom and Jerry, Quacker speaks frequently in a distinctive duck voice modeled on Disney’s Donald Duck.
Quacker is generally trusting and good-natured. He is friendly with Jerry and does not usually hold grudges against Tom, even when Tom treats him as prey. Viewers sometimes confuse him with Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, or Tweety, but those characters belong to other cartoon worlds. Quacker also helped inspire Yakky Doodle, another Hanna-Barbera duck character.