Feb. 1, 2015 - Muscovy Ducks

On a trip to Tallahassee, Diana and I stopped at Lake Ella to see the Muscovy Ducks. These large, bulky ducks are not truly wild; they are domesticated birds that have either escaped or been released. Males are 31 inches long and can weigh up to 15 pounds. Females are smaller (21 inches and 6½ pounds.) For comparison, Mallards are 23 inches and only about 2½ pounds.

DuckMuscovyLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

Muscovy Ducks are native to Mexico, Central and South America. A small number of truly wild Muscovy Ducks can be found in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The wild ducks are iridescent black with white wing patches. The Lake Ella ducks are quite varied in appearance but, of all the ducks we saw, this one looks most like the wild ducks. However, a wild Muscovy would have black legs and feet, not yellow.

DuckMuscovyLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

Muscovy Ducks have a variable amount of bare, warty skin on their faces. This is a good example.

DuckMuscovycloseLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

Here is another one with less red on the face.

DuckMuscovycloseLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

Lake Ella also has a population of Mallards and it appears there is a fair amount of cross-breeding between them and the Muscovy Ducks. The shape of this duck’s head looks more like that of a Mallard than a Muscovy Duck.

DuckMuscovycloseLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

This one looks even more like a Mallard but it has the bare red skin characteristic of the Muscovy.

DuckMuscovycloseLakeEllaTallahassee20150122

Muscovy Ducks can be quite aggressive toward each other. This one grabbed the tail of another duck and held on even as they raced along the shoreline. When it finally let go, there were some loose feathers on the water.

DuckMuscovysquabblingLakeEllaTallahassee20150122