198 THE TAME DUCK 



THE MUSK DUCK. 



Sitnonymes — JLnas moschata, of Linnaeus ; Jinas sylvestris braziliensie, 

 of Ray ; Cane musquie, of the French ; bieamduftend Elite, of the Ger- 

 mans ; Pata real, Pata gran&e, Pata almisclada, of the Spaniards ; 

 Musk Duck, Muscovy Buck, of the English and Anglo- Americans. 



The musk duck, so termed from the strong scent of 

 musk which its skin exhales, is undoubtedly the type 

 of a genus very distinct from that of the common kind. 

 In this species, the feathers are large, lax, and powdery, 

 the cheeks, are extensively naked, and the base of the 

 bill is carunculated. This duck greatly exceeds the 

 ordinary kind in size, and the male is far larger than 

 the female. The general color is glossy blue-black, 

 varied more or less with white, the head is crested, 

 and a scarlet fleshy space surrounds the eye, contin- 

 ued from scarlet caruncles at the base of the beak. 

 Tail destitute of the curled feathers so conspicuous in 

 the tail of the common drake. In a wild state, the 

 drake is of a brownish-black, with a broad white patch 

 on the wings, the female being smaller and more ob- 

 scurely colored. But in a state of domestication, it 

 exhibits every variety of color, like the common duck. 



The tropical regions of South America are the na- 

 tive country of the musk duck, which may account 

 for its dislike to a cold bath in our northern climate. 

 Its frizzled crest is analogous to that of some curas- 

 sows, natives of the same continent. It is fond of 

 warmth, passing ihe night, at the north, not in the open 

 air, but, in the fowl house with the cock and hens; 



