Muscovy Ducks
Kingdom: Animals
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Cairina
Species: C. moschata
Subspecies: C. m. domestica
The Muscovy duck has been domesticated for centuries, and is widely traded as “Barbary duck”. Truly wild individuals are restricted to south Texas and points south, but domesticated versions occur in parks and farms across much of North America. Wild Muscovy Ducks are glossy black with bold white wing patches and are forest dwellers that nest in tree cavities. Muscovy Ducks are large, heavy bodied ducks that are mostly black and white as adults. Males and females have bare warty skin around their eyes. Muscovy ducks are also less noisy, and sometimes marketed as a “quackless” duck; even though they are not completely silent, they don’t actually quack (except in cases of extreme stress). The male Muscovy duck is the largest duck in North America, but the female is only half his size. After laying 8–15 eggs, she does all of the nest defense and raises the ducklings (which have sharp claws and hooked bills to climb out of the nest).