Muscovy Duck

Cairina moschata

eBird describes the Muscovy Duck like this:  Large, hefty duck that has wild and domestic types. Wild birds are dark blackish overall with iridescent green and bronze, especially on the wings. Look for bold white wing patches in flight and red warts on the face (more extensive on males). Tends to be shy and most often seen in flight over extensive wetlands or along large rivers. Occurs extensively throughout Middle and South America, but typically scarce. Very restricted range in the U.S., only known from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Domestic birds, on the other hand, are regularly found walking around in parks and farms, looking for scraps of food and chasing native waterfowl. Plumage varies from all white to all black, typically with more extensive red warts on the face than wild birds. There is a well-established feral population in Florida, with smaller domestic populations spread across the globe.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Muscovy Duck with this descriptive information:  Muscovy Duck is a large and heavily-built, black duck of tropical rivers, ponds and marshes. Muscovy Duck commonly is kept in captivity, and feral populations and free ranging domestic type muscovies now occur well outside its original range (Donkin 1989), which extends from extreme southern Texas and northern Mexico south to northern Argentina. Wild Muscovy also is heavily hunted, and can be very wary; where hunted, these ducks most often are detected in the early morning or late evening when seen flying to and from feeding areas. In flight, Muscovy Duck appears massive, with broad wings and tail; the upperwing coverts of adults are white, and form a broad white wing patch in flight. The diet of Muscovy Duck includes a variety of grains, aquatic vegetation, fruits, nuts, small fish, insects, and crabs. The sexes are similar in plumage, but males are significantly larger than females. Despite its large size, Muscovy Ducks are partially arboreal, roosting in trees, and nesting in tree cavities and nest boxes.

I saw my first wild Muscovy Duck on the late afternoon of February 10, 2023 while on a boat tour of the Tárcoles River in Costa Rica.  I had seen domestic birds in the United States of many occasions, but was delighted to see one in the wild.