Muriel

The Muscovy’s name derives from muskduck, (not Russia!), and it was originally a native of the South American tropics, then domesticated there by the Indians, before being brought to Europe by the Spanish. They were found to thrive in the colder climate.

They are perching ducks, and have a much lesser need to swim than other ducks. They are usually kept for their meat, often by crossing with domestic mallards to produce a sterile hybrid.

The distinctive red knob-like caruncle on the beak of the male is the cause of the male attacking a red item that is waved in front of him. It appears to trigger the thought that there is a threatening other male in front of him.

These, like all ducks, are promiscuous. Mating is abrupt and fairly violent. Incubation is 35 days, after which the young can swim immediately. They reach maturity within a year, unlike swans and geese that take two years and are then monogamous for life.

They are, however, like swans and geese, in the Anatidae family, a clean family, of which Noah would have taken 7 pairs onto the Ark.