Editing Muscovy duck (section)

==Etymology==
===Common name "Muscovy"===
"[[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Muscovy]]" is an old name for the region of Russia surrounding Moscow, but these ducks are neither native there nor were introduced there before they became known in Western Europe. It is not quite clear how the term came about; it very likely originated between 1550 and 1600, but did not become widespread until somewhat later.

In one suggestion, it has been claimed that the [[Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands]] traded these ducks to Europe occasionally after 1550;<ref name=holderread2001-7374>{{harvnb|Holderread|2001|pp=73–74}}</ref> this [[chartered company]] became eventually known as the "[[Muscovy Company]]" or "Muscovite Company" so the ducks might thus have come to be called "Muscovite ducks" or "Muscovy ducks" in keeping with the common practice of attaching the importer's name to the products they sold.<ref name=holderread2001-7374 /> But while the Muscovite Company initiated vigorous trade with Russia, they hardly, if at all, traded produce from the Americas; thus, they are unlikely to have traded ''C. moschata'' to a significant extent.

Alternatively, just as in the [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]], which is also from North America, not [[Turkey]], and the [[guineafowl]], which are not limited to [[Guinea]], "Muscovy" might be simply a generic term for an exotic place, in reference to the singular appearance of these birds. This is evidenced by other names suggesting the species came from lands where it is not actually native, but from where much "outlandish" produce was imported at that time (see below).

Yet another view, not incompatible with either of those discussed above, connects the species with the [[Muisca people|Muisca]], a [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] nation in today's Colombia. The duck is native to these lands also, and it is likely that it was kept by the Muisca as a domestic animal to some extent. It is conceivable that a term like "Muisca duck", hard to comprehend for the average European of those times, would be corrupted into something more familiar. Likewise, the [[Miskito people|Miskito Indians]] of the [[Mosquito Coast|Miskito Coast]] in Nicaragua and Honduras heavily relied on it as a domestic species, and the ducks as well may have been named after this region.

===Species name "''moschata''"===
[[File:Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) male.jpg|thumb|left|Male swimming, with the green iridescence of the plumage showing in good light]]
Linnaeus' description of ''Anas moschata'' only consists of a curt but entirely unequivocal ''[Anas] facie nuda papillosa'' ("A duck with a naked and carunculated face"), and his primary reference is his earlier work ''Fauna Svecica''.<ref name=Linnaeus1746/> But Linnaeus refers also to older sources, wherein much information on the origin of the common name is found.

[[Conrad Gessner]] is given by Linnaeus as a source, but the ''[[Historia animalium (Gessner book)|Historia animalium]]'' mentions the Muscovy duck only in passing.<ref>{{harvnb|Gessner|1555|p=118}}; not p. 122 as per Linnaeus (1741, 1758): see {{harvnb|Aldrovandi|1637|p=192}} and {{harvnb|Willughby|1676|p=295}}</ref> [[Ulisse Aldrovandi]]<ref>{{harvnb|Aldrovandi|1637|pp=192–201}}</ref> discusses the species in detail, referring to the wild birds and its domestic breeds variously as ''anas cairina'', ''anas indica'' or ''anas libyca'' – "duck from [[Cairo]]", "Indian duck" (in reference to the [[West Indies]]) or "[[Libya]]n duck". But his ''anas indica'' (based, like Gessner's brief discussion, ultimately on the reports of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s travels) also seems to have included another [[species]],<ref>{{harvnb|Aldrovandi|1637|pp=192, 194}}: ''Anas indica alia''</ref> perhaps a [[whistling-duck]] (''Dendrocygna''). Already however the species is tied to some more or less nondescript "exotic" locality, "Libya" could still refer to [[Ancient Libya|any place in Northern Africa]] at that time, where it did not occur naturally. [[Francis Willughby]] discusses "The Muscovy duck" as ''anas moschata'' and expresses his belief that Aldrovandi's and Gessner's ''anas cairina'', ''anas indica'' and ''anas libyca'' (which he calls "The Guiny duck", adding another mistaken place of origin to the list) all refer to the same species.<ref>{{harvnb|Willughby|1676|pp=294–295}}</ref> Finally, [[John Ray]] attempts to clear up the confusion by providing an alternative explanation for the name's [[etymology]]:
<blockquote>In English, it is called ''The Muscovy-Duck'', though this is not transferred from Muscovia [the [[Neo-Latin]] name of Muscovy], but from the rather strong musk odour it exudes.<ref name=Ray/></blockquote>

Linnaeus came to witness its "[[Game (food)|gamey]]" aroma first-hand, as he attests in the ''Fauna Svecica'' and again in the [[Travel literature|travelogue]] of this 1746 [[Västergötland]] excursion.<ref name=Linnaeus1746/><ref name=Linnaeus1747/> Similarly, the [[Russian (language)|Russian]] name of this species, ''muskusnaya utka'' (Мускусная утка), means "musk duck", without any reference to Moscow, as do the [[Bokmål]] and [[Danish (language)|Danish]] ''moskusand'', [[Dutch (language)|Dutch]] ''muskuseend'', [[Finnish (language)|Finnish]] ''myskisorsa'', [[French (language)|French]] ''canard musqué'', [[German (language)|German]] ''Moschusente'', [[Italian (language)|Italian]] ''anatra muschiata'', [[Spanish (language)|Spanish]] ''pato almizclado'' and [[Swedish (language)|Swedish]] ''myskand''. In English, however, [[musk duck]] refers to the [[Australia]]n species ''Biziura lobata''.

===Genus name "''Cairina''"===
The currently assigned [[Name of a biological genus|genus name]] '''''Cairina''''', meanwhile, traces its origin to Aldrovandi and the mistaken belief that the birds came from [[Egypt]]: translated, the current scientific name of the Muscovy duck means "the musky one from Cairo".

===Other names===
In some regions the name '''"Barbary duck"''' is used for domestic and "Muscovy duck" for wild birds; in other places, "Barbary duck" refers specifically to the dressed carcass, while "Muscovy duck" applies to living ''C. moschata'', regardless of whether they are wild or domestic. In general, "Barbary duck" is the usual term for ''C. moschata'' in a [[culinary]] context.