14 
tlie breast and body is the same as that of the back. The wing coverts 
are rich, lustrous green black, and the tail feathers may be either black 
or white, the latter being preferred. The thighs, like the tail feathers, 
may be either black or white, white being preferred; the shanks, toes, 
and webs vary in color from yellow to dark lead or black. The White 
Muscovy in color of plumage is pure white throughout; feathers of any 
other color will disqualify the bird for show purposes. The eyes in the 
white variety are of a leaden-blue or gray color, while those of the col¬ 
ored are brown. The shanks, toes, and webs are of a pale-orange or 
yellow color. 
Weight.—The standard weight of the adult drake is 10 pounds; adult 
duck, 8 pounds; young drake, 8 pounds, and young duck, 7 pounds. 
GRAY AND WHITE CALL DUCKS. 
History.—Call ducks are bantams, and are bred more for the fancy 
than for the profit there is in them for market. There are two kinds of 
Call ducks, the Gray 
Call and the White 
Call (fig. 7), and it 
is only a choice of 
plumage as to which 
is the better of the 
two. They are both 
of one character as 
to size, shape, and 
habits, and differ 
only as regards color. 
The Gray Call is very 
similar in color of 
plumage to the 
Rouen, and is in¬ 
deed called by many 
the Bantam Rouen, 
and the White is generally called the Bantam Pekin. Their uses are 
only for the showroom, or as decoy ducks for wild-duck shooting. For 
the latter purpose they are sometimes crossed with the common “ puddle 
duck 77 or with the wild Mallard. This latter cross is considered excel¬ 
lent, the progeny being distinguished for tameness and domesticity. 
Description.—When breeding Call ducks, smallness of size is the first 
consideration; the smaller they are bred the better. The arts of skillful 
breeding for the showroom are being used in keeping down the size of 
these ducks. Inbreeding has been resorted to, while late hatching, 
scanty feeding, and nonbone-making food have been the means that 
have retarded their natural development. 
The head of the Call duck is full and round; bill, short and broad; 
neck of medium length, and back comparatively short; the breast is 
Fig. 7.—Pair of White Call ducks. 
