# What's this duck-like bird? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623 "2020-03-29T21:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/1 "2020-03-29T21:27:00Z")
**Littlest R** sent her mother this photo, asking what this bird is. Any of you out there able to identify it? [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49714009566_4ff7dd3866_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49714009566_4ff7dd3866_b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/2 "2020-03-29T21:31:07Z")
A duck? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/3 "2020-03-29T21:39:36Z")
:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/4 "2020-03-29T21:40:48Z")
Maybe a muscovy duck? They have a range of feather colorations. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/5 "2020-03-29T21:43:14Z")
I am definitely not an expert, but it looks like a [Muscovy duck.](https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/domducks.htm) ETA: ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/6 "2020-03-29T21:47:54Z")
Muscovy duck: [https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/domducks.htm](https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/domducks.htm) ETA: ninja’d too! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/7 "2020-03-29T21:51:40Z")
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/8 "2020-03-29T21:55:18Z")
Agreed that it’s a domestic Muscovy Duck. Domesticated varieties have varying amounts of white in the plumage. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/9 "2020-03-29T22:01:12Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > A duck? **Moderator Note** This being GQ, let’s save smart-ass answers until the question has been answered. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/10 "2020-03-29T22:26:35Z")
That otherwise OK link suggests that domestic ducks are white because people who bread domestic ducks like the color. Actually, it is well known that white coloration is associated with mild behavior willingness to cope with humans in a variety of species. Notably foxes, but the research has been replicated in other species. Yes, you can bread a tame domestic fox: it’s white. Big ducks with big white patches are likely to be cross-breeds. Muscovy drakes will mate with anything. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/11 "2020-03-29T23:27:26Z")
Muscovy Ducks are one of the few species of domestic animal that’s of New World origin. They are native to the tropics of the Americas, and were domesticated by several indigenous cultures before the arrival of Columbus. It’s obscure how they acquired the name “Muscovy,” an old name for the Moscow region. Most likely it’s derived from their musky odor. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/12 "2020-03-30T03:30:10Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… But Muscovy Ducks don’t quack. They communicate by a hissing sound, both to each other and to owners as pets. (They can quack, but usually do so only under extreme distress.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/13 "2020-03-30T04:18:06Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > A duck? One way to tell, does it weigh the same as a witch? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/14 "2020-03-30T05:58:23Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > But Muscovy Ducks don’t quack. They communicate by a hissing sound, both to each other and to owners as pets. (They can quack, but usually do so only under extreme distress.) But their hiss doesn’t echo.😉 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/15 "2020-03-30T11:55:27Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > That otherwise OK link suggests that domestic ducks are white because people who bread domestic ducks like the color. > > Actually, it is well known that white coloration is associated with mild behavior willingness to cope with humans in a variety of species. Notably foxes, but the research has been replicated in other species. Yes, you can bread a tame domestic fox: it’s white. > > Big ducks with big white patches are likely to be cross-breeds. Muscovy drakes will mate with anything. “It is well know”? Really? The only tame domestic fox I know of is … not white [Domesticated silver fox - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_red_fox) Tame ducks and geese are predominantly white, but chickens are not, dogs are not, horses are not, cows are not, goats are not, rabbits are not … There are a lot of white sheep, but their dominance seem pretty much to be a recent development and the reason was it being a better base for colored clothing. So how about a cite? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/16 "2020-03-30T14:00:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > This being GQ, let’s save smart-ass answers until the question has been answered. Well, to be fair, the answer was correct. And, honestly, that’s the first thing I thought when I saw the picture, as well. “It’s a duck.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/17 "2020-03-30T15:35:19Z")
I thought the indication of domestication in foxes and some other mammals was a white forehead blaze. > [@](#): > > people who bread domestic ducks Roasted is better. ETA:[Article about domesticating foxes.](http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160912-a-soviet-scientist-created-the-only-tame-foxes-in-the-world) One take-away: > [@](#): > > In the UK it is legal to keep a fox as a pet, but that does not mean it is a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/18 "2020-04-06T10:09:18Z")
> [@naita](#): > > “It is well know”? Really? > > The only tame domestic fox I know of is … not white [Domesticated silver fox - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_red_fox) > > Tame ducks and geese are predominantly white, but chickens are not, dogs are not, horses are not, cows are not, goats are not, rabbits are not … > > There are a lot of white sheep, but their dominance seem pretty much to be a recent development and the reason was it being a better base for colored clothing. > > So how about a cite? “Some of these attributes (white spotting, floppy ears, curly tails) have been aptly called the morphological markers of domestication” [Animal evolution during domestication: the domesticated fox as a model](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763232/) [https://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17230](https://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17230) “Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication” ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/19 "2020-04-06T11:42:14Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > “Some of these attributes (white spotting, floppy ears, curly tails) have been aptly called the morphological markers of domestication” > > [Animal evolution during domestication: the domesticated fox as a model](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763232/) > > [https://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17230](https://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17230) > “Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication” In the first one their “cite” for this statement is a collection of pictures of animals with white spotting. In the second they have no cite at all. And neither is a paper on white coloration and both are exclusively on mammal domestication. To me it looks a lot like domestication through artificial selection pressure keeps color aberrations that natural selection pressure would be likely to remove. White color is **one** such aberration from some of the wild species, and it can arise from pigment genes or their regulators being broken, so it’s an “easier” mutation than many. Going from that to “it’s a morphological marker of domestication” looks like lazy science. Foxes naturally have white tails. Zebras are famously untameable. _Birds_ which this question was about have white spots or coloration in wild forms so often that I wouldn’t be surprised if having some white coloration is more common than having no white coloration. So absent a cite that doesn’t just show pictures of tame animals with white spots and goes “see?”, I’m going to stick with “Pure white tame ducks are the result of selective breeding for pure white ducks”. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623/20 "2020-04-06T21:36:06Z")
1. Domestic ducks with the prominent exception of the Muscovy are derived from Mallards. They come in all sorts of selected colors, as do Muscovies and in fact virtually all domestic animals, color being something people really like to tinker with. 2. All-white poultry (ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys) are particularly desired in commercial operations because the carcass dresses out with a cleaner look. If you have only eaten poultry from the supermarket you can be assured that their feathers were white. 3. White on the “extensions” of some mammals – paws, nose, tail tip – is indeed a first sign of domestication, as famously discovered in the breeding of fur foxes in Russia. When these foxes were selected for tame temperament, this (unwanted) white pattern spontaneously also appeared. This is probably due to neonatalism, the retention of juvenile traits (like tameness) in adults. These areas are the last to become pigmented in utero. So the unfinished pigmentation is linked to the juvenile temperament. Along with a host of other appearance changes. cite:[The silver fox domestication experiment | Evolution: Education and Outreach | Full Text](https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12052-018-0090-x) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-duck-like-bird/850623.md?page=2)