Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata sylvestris), Isla Santay, Ecuador

The Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck known in whole Latin America as the Creole duck for its domestic subspecies. It is a species of duck native to tropical America and whose current distribution area ranges from Mexico to the center of Argentina and Uruguay, in tropical and subtropical climate zones and between altitudes ranging from sea level to 1000 m.
The specimen featured on this picture is the wild Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata moschata). This large duck has predominantly shiny black feathers in males and matte black in females, white spots on the wings, which become more noticeable during flight, and a blackish bill. On the face, around the beak, it has pink or red granules or caruncles. It measures about 76 cm length.
These ducks have been bred since the pre-Columbian times by Native Americans.
The natural habitat of the wild Muscovy Duck corresponds to that of wooded sites with sufficient fresh water, preferably in wetlands, lagoons, or near slow-flowing streams or rivers. In such areas they are usually found perched on the branches of trees near watercourses.