Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Duck aka. Barbary Duck aka. Common Duck aka. Forest Duck aka. Greater Wood Duck aka. pato criollo ("creole duck") aka. pato casero ("backyard duck") and pato mudo ("mute duck")
Key West Botanical Gardens, Key West, Conch Republic
April 2015
Member of the Ducks, Geese, and Swans Family
§A Team of Ducks§

~true bird fact~ There is a lively and ongoing debate in the Jewish community about whether or not Muscovy Ducks are Kosher (permissible for strict Jews to eat). This seems to stem from a rabinical decision in the 1800's by an American rabbi, who banned the ducks. No ban has ever existed for Jews in Israel.

Additional Duck Facts

~Another bird first scientifically described by our friend Carl Linnaeus
~Muscovy Ducks don't quack, they hiss
~Muscovy Duck liver and heart are ingredients in Homeopathic medicine, said to relieve flu symptoms
~The name comes from their musky smell, seemingly. There is some debate on this topic.
~Considered an invasive species in most parts of the US, they are sometimes destroyed by wildlife services. The exception to this is in some parts of southern Florida and Texas where they are considered 'close enough' to native. The duck's usual home is Central and South America.
~Muscovy ducks have an unusually detailed wikipedia page, where most of this information is from



And now, a new feature for us here on Amateurnithologist: Selected Excerpts from customer reviews on BackyardChickens.com. We call it...

Bird Reviews
Rated #2 in ducks (!!!)

"My ducks dance where ever they go"

"Cons: creepy looking and smelly "

"These are my best ducks and are great mothers, very sweet, have beautiful babies"

"very laid back"

"I will go outside and they will be up in the front yard just doing duck things"

"We love our Muscovy drake but he is very very randy. He will try to mate with any bird he can get his beak on, which made for an awkward situation with the neighbor"

"I did not like him at all, He was huge and had very sharp nails"

"They can be a little shy at first but once they see you enough they warm right up to you and love you almost instantly"