The domestic duck, mostly bred down from the mallard, with a minority line from the Muscovy duck of the Americas. Kept worldwide for eggs, meat and down, and worked directly into rice farming across East and Southeast Asia, where ducks are driven through the paddies to eat pests and weeds after the rice is established. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Scientific NameAnas platyrhynchos domesticus (mallard-derived breeds); Cairina moschata domestica (Muscovy line) 1 Domestication RegionSoutheast Asia (mallard-derived line); separately domesticated in the Americas (Muscovy line) 1 Primary UsesEggs, meat, down and feathers; pest and weed control in rice paddies 1 Disputed
Domesticated When (Circa)Commonly dated to roughly the 2nd millennium BC in Southeast Asia; the exact date is not precisely fixed. Era
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Found In
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Source Duck (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Duck (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae.
Taxonomy section
All ducks belong to the biological order Anseriformes, a group that contains the ducks, geese and swans, as well as the screamers, and the magpie goose.
Domestication section
Almost all the varieties of domestic ducks are descended from the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), apart from the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata).
Uses section
Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, and feathers (particularly their down).
History section
They were probably domesticated in Southern China around 2000 BC.
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