What is "musk duck"

Muscovy duck \Mus"co*vy duck`\ [A corruption of musk duck.] (Zo["o]l.) A duck ( Cairina moschata), larger than the common duck, often raised in poultry yards. Called also musk duck. It is native of tropical America, from Mexico to Southern Brazil.

n. The Musk Duck (''Biziura lobata''), a highly aquatic, stiff-tailed duck native to southern Australia.

n. large crested wild duck of Central America and South America; widely domesticated [syn: muscovy duck, Cairina moschata]

The musk duck (Biziura lobata) is a highly aquatic, stiff-tailed duck native to southern Australia. It is the only living member of the genus Biziura. An extinct relative, the New Zealand musk duck or de Lautour's duck (B. delautouri), once occurred on New Zealand, but is only known from prehistoric subfossil bones. It was about 8% longer than the living species, with a particularly large head.

This animal derives its common name from the peculiar musky odour it emanates during the breeding season. Musk ducks are moderately common through the Murray-Darling and Cooper Creek basins, and in the wetter, fertile areas in the south of the continent: the southwest corner of Western Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.