I belong to a group of folks known as the Carolinas Nature Photographers Association. This morning I met up with some of our local CNPA'ers at the Market Commons in Myrtle Beach. We had a great time photographing ducks and geese and coots. We especially enjoyed shooting a pair of Muscovy ducks along with their chicks.
The most distinctive feature of the muscovy ducks is the featherless, bright "lumpy" red mask around their eyes and above the beak, which is larger in the male.
Muscovies have a "crest" on the top of their heads that they can raise at will.
Males will raise this crest to fend off other males or he raises his crest to impress the females.
The male is easily identified by his face mask alone - but also by his generally larger size - in fact, the adult male is usually twice the size of the female. The female's appearance is generally more slender than that of the male.
Hope you enjoy seeing these unique birds.
I have these ducks in my neighborhood pond, and always wondered what they were...
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