The Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata, popularly known as Barbary Duck, is a large duck which is native to Mexico, Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the lower Rio Grande River basin in Texas. There also is a significant feral population in southern Florida and southern Texas.

The wild Muscovy Duck is all-dark apart from the white in the wings, with long talons on its feet and a wide flat tail. The male is 86 cm long and weighs 3 kg, much larger than the 64 cm long, 1.3 kg female. His most distinctive features are a bare red face with a pronounced caruncle at the base of the bill and a low erectile crest of feathers. The drake has a dry hissing call, and the hen a quiet trilling coo.

Bred in large quantities in France, Barbary ducks are intensively reared for ten to 12

weeks. You should be able to find Barbary duck breasts and leg portions, as well as whole, oven-ready ducks, in supermarkets.

Barbary ducks are less fatty than many other breeds, with a thin skin and no layer of fat underneath. It needs careful basting when cooking so that it doesn't dry out. A six to seven-pound duck is enough to feed four to six people.