Muscovy
Duck
(Cairinamoschata)
Photographed in the wild, Naples, Florida Apr 2008
The wild Muscovy Duck are the only
domestic ducks that are not derived from Mallard stock. They are a South
American species. The original (wild type) coloration is black and white, but
domestication has produced many more colors, including white, black, chocolate,
and blue. The males are large, weighing up to twelve pounds, with the smaller
females reaching only seven
His most distinctive features are a
bare red face with pronounced red
bumps at the base of the bill and a low erectable crest of feathers. The drake
has a dry hissing call, and the hen a quiet trilling coo. Muscovy ducks feed
mostly on underwater vegetation, seeds and acorns.
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