The appearance of muscovy ducks in the Black Sea
The head, neck, upper body and lower body of Black Sea Muscovy Duck are all black, and the upper body is slightly shiny. The wings are covered with dark brown and silver gray feathers, and the tail is black, long and pointed. The top of the female bird's head and back neck are dark brown, the head, neck, chin and throat are grayish white, and there are tiny light brown spots on the side of the neck. The upper body is dark grayish brown with grayish white end spots, and there are also grayish white end spots on the chest and sides. The chest and abdomen are grayish brown, and the abdomen has a little less obvious grayish white markings. Axillary feather, perianal feather and tail feather are dark brown; The feathers under the wings are dark grayish brown with grayish white edges.
Size measurement: male bird weight 1000- 1600g, female bird 600- 1000g, body length 430-540mm；; Koufeng is 43-50 mm for male and 40-45 mm for female; Wing male 2 10-242mm, female 205-230 mm; 74-85 mm for male and 70-72 mm for female; The tarsometatarsal bone is 40-50 mm in male and 4 1-46 mm in female.
Living habits
Sex groups are almost all group activities in a year. Sometimes males and females gather separately. Female birds usually stay farther north in winter. It often appears on the water near the coast and islands, and sometimes in inland freshwater lakes. Usually crowded together, swimming freely in groups, occasionally seeing single or double work. Swim fast and light, and your tail often sticks up. Diving is also very good, you can dive underwater for more than 30 seconds at a time. But walking on the ground is difficult, wobbly and clumsy. Taking off on the water is also very flexible, and you can fly on the water without too much flapping. Fly fast and powerful, usually low and close to the water.
In spring, it begins to move to the breeding ground from April to May. In the process of migration, females and young birds keep joining, and some young birds who do not participate in breeding do not migrate and stay in the wintering ground. In autumn, it will move to the wintering area from September to June. Often in groups. Flying is extremely powerful, wings flap quickly and often make a "whirring" sound. It usually flies along the coast. Sometimes it will fly over far land. Generally, flying along the water is not high, and flying on land is very high. Sometimes we also make a short stop in inland lakes. The flight queue is often a tight ball or wavy line.
Black Sea Muscovy Duck mainly feeds on diving. The food is mainly animal food such as aquatic insects, crustaceans and molluscs, but also plant food such as roots and leaves of POTAMOGETON and other aquatic plants.
Breeding mode
Black sea muscovy ducks usually mature sexually at the age of 2. When they arrive at the breeding ground, they are paired. Yes, it usually forms in late winter and spring migration. Nest in arctic and subarctic tundra and tundra forest belt. Nests are generally placed in grass or bushes on the ground not far from lakes, ponds, rivers and other fresh water areas, especially in tundra and islands with more lakes and ponds. The bird's nest is made of some locally available dry plants, surrounded by down plucked from the female bird. Each nest lays 6- 10 eggs, which are light green-brown or light yellow in color. Eggs are 59-72× 40-46.5mm in size and 60-74g in weight. Female birds hatch eggs alone. After the females begin to hatch, the males fly to the sea or the waters near the nest in droves to molt. The incubation period is 27-28 days.