Conservation status | |
---|---|
Other names | |
Country of origin | Netherlands |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Classification | |
APA | no [7] |
EE | yes [8] |
PCGB | light [9] |
Notes | |
may be crested [8] | |
|
The Hook Bill or Dutch Hookbill (Dutch : Kromsnaveleend or Krombekeend [10] ) is a breed of domestic duck characterised by an unusual down-curved beak. [11] [12] It is an ancient breed, and has been documented since the seventeenth century. Speculation that it originated in Asia, [13] or is related to the Indian Runner, is apparently unsubstantiated. [14]
The origins of the Hook Bill are unknown. The earliest published illustration and description appear to be those in the Ornithologiæ Libri Tres of Francis Willughby, published in 1676. [14] [15] : 294 Willughby's book is in Latin; when it was re-published by John Ray in English in 1678, the description of the Hook-billed Duck was: [14] [16] : 381
In shape of body and outward lineaments it is very like the common tame Duck; differs chiefly in the Bill, which is broad, something longer than the common Ducks, and bending moderately downward. The Head also is lesser and slenderer than the common Ducks. It is said to be a better layer.
Around 100 years ago there were many, as duck eggs were more sold than chicken eggs, but now its worldwide population in captivity is estimated to be no more than 800 individual egg-laying females. [10] It is now considered an endangered duck breed. [1] : 141
Some were taken to the United States in 2000; the breed is not among those listed in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association. [5]
In 2007 the conservation status of the Hook Bill was listed by the FAO as "endangered" at European level. In 2020 it was reported to DAD-IS as "at risk", while the Dutch Stichting Zeldzame Huisdierrassen classified it as "critical", [3] as did the Livestock Conservancy in the United States. [5] It was not on the rare breed watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the United Kingdom. [17]
The Hook Bill is a light duck, with an average weight of approximately 2 kg. [6] : 417 Three colour variants are recognised in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom: [8] the dusky mallard has a black head and rump with green lustre, the body in shades of grey with no white neck-ring, and a slate-grey beak; the white-bibbed dusky mallard is similarly coloured, but with a distinct white chest-bib and white-tipped wing primaries; the white has pure white plumage, blue eyes, bright orange legs and a flesh-pink bill. [6] : 417 A further seventeen colours are listed for Germany by the Entente Européenne, but are not accepted in the European standard. [8]
The Hook Bill may be kept for ornament or for exhibition, but is also a good layer: ducks may give between 100 and 225 white or greenish-blue eggs per year. [5]
The American Game is an American breed of game fowl, chickens bred specifically for cockfighting. It has many color varieties, and may also be kept for ornament.
The Cochin is a breed of large domestic chicken. It derives from large feather-legged chickens brought from China to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. It is reared principally for exhibition. It was formerly known as Cochin-China.
The Pekin or White Pekin is an American breed of domestic duck, raised primarily for meat. It derives from birds brought to the United States from China in the nineteenth century, and is now bred in many parts of the world. It is often known as the American Pekin to distinguish it from the German Pekin, a distinct and separate breed which derives from the same Chinese stock but has different breeding. Many of these ducks were reared on Long Island, New York, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from which the breed derived its name Long Island Duck.
The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was first seen in Massachusetts in the 19th century and for much of the early 20th century was the most widely kept chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-purpose chicken, raised both for its meat and for its brown eggs. It is resistant to cold, easy to manage, and a good sitter.
Indian Runners are a breed of Anas platyrhynchos domesticus, the domestic duck. They stand erect like penguins and, rather than waddling, they run. The females usually lay about 300 to 350 eggs a year or more, depending whether they are from exhibition or utility strains. They were found on the Indonesian islands of Lombok, Java and Bali where they were 'walked' to market and sold as egg-layers or for meat. These ducks do not fly and only rarely form nests and incubate their own eggs. They run or walk, often dropping their eggs wherever they happen to be. Duck-breeders need to house their birds overnight or be vigilant in picking up the eggs to prevent them from being taken by other animals.
The Campbell is a British breed of domestic duck. It was developed at Uley, in Gloucestershire, England, at the turn of the 20th century; being introduced to the public in 1898 and the Khaki variety in 1901.
The Cayuga is an American breed of domestic duck. It was introduced to the Finger Lakes region of New York State in about 1840, and is named for the Cayuga people of that area. Until the last years of the nineteenth century it was the principal duck reared for meat in the United States. In the twenty-first century it is kept mainly for ornament.
The Swedish Blue or Blue Swedish is a Swedish breed of domestic duck. It emerged during the nineteenth century in what was then Swedish Pomerania, located in present-day north-east Germany.
The Rouen is a heavyweight breed of domesticated duck. Rouens are raised primarily for meat, exhibition, or as general purpose ducks. Since they are not prolific egg layers, Rouen ducks are most commonly bred for their meat. The breed originated in France sometime before the 19th century.
The Call is a historic breed of small domestic duck. It is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, where the earliest descriptions and depictions of it date from the seventeenth century. It is similar in appearance to some other breeds of duck, but is much smaller, with a round head and very short bill. Ducks, but not drakes, are very loquacious and noisy, with a piercing high-pitched call which be heard from far away.
The Orpington or Buff Orpington Duck is a breed of domestic duck. It is a dual-purpose breed used for meat and egg production. It is capable of laying up to 220 eggs a year. Originally created by William Cook of Orpington, Kent, UK, from the selection of mis-marked Blue Orpington Ducks; Cook was also the developer of the Orpington chicken. The breeds used in the development of the breed included Cayuga, Indian Runner, commercial Aylesbury and Rouen. It is proposed that Cook's intentions for the breed were to capitalize on the growing demand for the buff colour pattern. The Buff Orpington Duck was introduced to the public at the Dairy Show, the Agricultural Hall (q.v.), Islington, London in October 1897. It is considered a threatened breed by the ALBC. This breed was admitted to the British Poultry Standard in 1910 and the American Poultry Associations Standard of Perfection as the 'Buff Duck' in the Medium class in 1914. The Orpington duck is available in three colour varieties: Buff, Blond and Brown. The Buff Orpington is an unstable colour due to a blue dilution gene which means that from the offspring, all three colour variations will appear.
The Magpie is a British breed of domestic duck. It has distinctive black and white markings reminiscent of the European magpie, and is a good layer of large eggs.
The Ancona is a breed of domestic duck, characterised by an unusual and variable broken-colored plumage pattern. It is not clear whether it originated in the United Kingdom or in the United States. It is not recognised or listed by the American Poultry Association, by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture, or by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.
The Nankin Bantam or Nankin is a British bantam breed of chicken. It is a true bantam, a naturally small breed with no large counterpart from which it was miniaturised. It is of South-east Asian origin, and is among the oldest bantam breeds. It is a yellowish buff colour, and the name is thought to derive from the colour of nankeen cotton from China.
The Silver Appleyard is a British breed of domestic duck. It was bred in the first half of the twentieth century by Reginald Appleyard, with the aim of creating a dual-purpose breed that would provide both a good quantity of meat and plenty of eggs.
The Welsh Harlequin is a breed of domestic duck originating in Wales. In 1949, in Criccieth, Group Captain Leslie Bonnet discovered a colour mutation among his flock of Khaki Campbells and began selective breeding for the trait. By 1968, hatching eggs were exported to the United States, followed by the importation of live birds in 1981.
The Saxony duck is a German breed of domestic duck. It was bred in Saxony in the 1930s, but because of the Second World War was recognised only in 1957.
The Shetland duck is a breed of domestic duck originating in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It is critically endangered.
The German Pekin, German: Deutsche Pekingente, is a European breed of domestic duck. It is commonly called simply Pekin or White Pekin. It is a different breed from the American Pekin, which is also commonly known by the same names. It was bred in Europe from birds originating in China and Japan and is distributed in many European countries.