Editing Muscovy duck (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) male (48300658492).jpg|left|thumb|Male, showing underwing pattern; Transpantaneira, Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil]]
It is a large duck, with the males significantly larger than the females. The males are {{convert|76|–|84|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weigh up to {{convert|3|–|4|kg|lb|abbr=on}}; females are {{convert|71|–|76|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.25|kg|lb|abbr=on}} weight, roughly half the weight of the males.<ref name="Peru">{{cite book | last=Schulenberg | first=Thomas S. | title=Field Guide to the Birds of Peru | publisher=Helm | publication-place=London | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-7136-8673-9 | pages=40–41}}</ref><ref name="Wildfowl">{{cite book | last1 = Madge | first1 = Steve | last2 = Burn | first2 = Hilary | year = 1988 | title = Wildfowl An identification guide to the ducks, geese and swans of the world | pages = 184–185 | publisher = Christopher Helm | isbn = 0-7470-2201-1}}</ref><ref name=hbw>{{ cite book | last=Carboneras | first=C. | year=1992 | chapter=Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=1: Ostrich to Ducks | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=84-87334-10-5 | page=594 }}</ref> The wingspan is from {{convert|137|to|152|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The plumage is predominantly black, with large white patches on the wing; the back and wing feathers being iridescent and glossy in males, while the females are more drab. Muscovy ducks have long [[claw]]s on their feet and a wide, flat tail.

On the head, the male has a short crest on the nape. The bill is black with a speckling of pale pink. A blackish or dark red knob can be seen at the bill base, which is similar in colour to the bare skin of the face. The eyes are yellowish-brown. The legs and webbed feet are blackish. The female is similar in plumage, but smaller, with a feathered face and lacking the prominent knob. The juvenile is duller overall, with little or no white on the wing.<ref name=oiseaux/>

The drake has a low breathy call, and the hen a quiet trilling coo.
{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Cairina-moschata |species=Muscovy Duck|image=Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) male (29039391935).jpg}}

The [[Domestic Muscovy duck]] is commonly known in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] as the ''pato criollo''. They have been bred since [[Pre-Colombian era|pre-Columbian]] times by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] and are heavier and less able to fly long distances than wild birds. Their plumage is also more variable, often with extensive white. Although the Muscovy duck is a [[Tropics|tropical]] bird, it adapts well to cooler climates, thriving in weather as cold as {{convert|−12|C|F|abbr=on}} and able to survive even colder conditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Holderread|2001|p=17}}</ref><ref name="nis.gsmfc.org"/> In general, '''Barbary duck''' is the term used for ''C. moschata'' in a [[culinary]] context.