The Muscovy Duck

As you lay back on your sunbeds, engrossed in a tales of sea faring adventurers and strange creatures, stop and think about some of the creatures that share this island with you, the sea faring people who dicovered them and what kind of journey bought them here. 

Ducks in Fuerteventura

It may seem strange to see ducks in a place where there is not many lakes or rivers for them to enjoy, but it is thought that they were domesticated by Native American cultures in the Americas and when Columbus arrived in the Bahamas, he loaded a few onto the Santa Maria and sailed them back to Europe.

Was Columbus a Duck Smuggler?

As we know Columbus often visited the neighbouring island of Tenerife, so maybe he was the seafairing adventurer and it was one of his crew that first introduced these wonderful creatures to the Canaries?  

How to identify a Muscovy Duck?

These male ducks are very large and weigh around 7kg but the female is much smaller and weighs about half that of the male. This bird is predominantly black and white but the feathers on the male´s back are iridescent and glossy. The bill can be either black, pink or yellow and will have a pink or red wattle around the base, which some people find unattractive…but not me!

What is a Muscovy Duck and what does it eat?

The Muscovy duck is a tropical bird but is quite happy to live in colder climates and can often be found roosting in trees at night. It´s normal diet is made up of plant material or small fish and reptiles and insects. It finds these by dabbling in shallow water. These birds will mate on land or in water and the female will lay a clutch of eight to sixteen white eggs at a time which are then incubated for period of 35 days. Once the chicks have hatched they stay with their mother for 10 to 12 weeks. The mother with her ducklings is a great sight to see, especially for the children, so come spring time....keep your eyes peeled!