Sonoma Mountain Ecology Notes

Celebrating and Caring for the Land

Muscovy “Caruncles”

The Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata, is native to Central and South America and has become domesticated and feral in many other parts of the world. The bumpy red featherless growths around their faces are called “caruncles” and are believed to be both a sexual display and used in feather maintenance, evidently females find them really attractive and they produce oils that can be applied to clean and waterproof feathers.

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