56 ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 
is applied to this variety of duck in honour of an important 
branch of Turkey merchants styled the ‘“ Muscovite Company,” 
by whom probably the bird was first introduced from the New 
World, and in an old work of that period (1570) it is styled 
the “Turkish Duck,” which lends colour to that supposition. 
The Muscovy is somewhat savage in disposition, and will 
attack and bite most sharply, especially during the breeding 
season. It grazes a great deal, often remaining for hours on 
land, and occasionally perching upon trees, the wings being 
very long and powerful. The female is an indifferent layer, 
and usually ‘‘steals” her nest in a tuft of rushes or grass, some 
distance removed from the water. The birds may be procured 
at about ros. each, and often at a lower price. The wild bird 
is nearly jet black, the only white in the plumage being a few 
feathers about the head and upper wing-coverts; the legs are 
black ; a long curved crest adorns the head. Specimens of 
Catrina moschata received by the Zoological Society in 
1851 and 1880, from Paraguay, exhibited very marked dis- 
tinctions from our domesticated birds. It is a fatal bird to 
introduce in a mixed collection, as it hybridises willingly with 
most of the other varieties. 
Male.—Head, with a small crest, whitish; neck thick 
and strong; bill small and much curved, surrounded at the 
base by bright scarlet caruncles; face naked, covered. with 
scarlet skin round and behind the eye; legs and feet orange- 
yellow ; wings long, and armed with a long pointed knob. 
Female.—Similar to male; much smaller. 
Young.—In down, yellow and black, or splashed white, 
brown, &c., according to variety; legs and bill yellow. 
Egg.—White, very large; ten to fifteen in number. 
April—May. Incubation, twenty-eight to thirty days. 
