cdossantos1's Identifications

Observed by a lake on USF campus. Seen with a couple of other of same species. Characterized by white plumage and long pointed red orange bill. 93 degrees Fahrenheit with little to no wind. Partly cloudy. Deuterostome

Today (08/27/2018), at 7:24 pm I observed a Muscovy Duck in Tampa, Florida on the University of South Florida campus. The Muscovy Duck (a deuterostome), originally named the "Musco Duck" is a wild, non-native species to Florida. Its scientific name is Cairina moschata. During my observation, it was moderately hot (79F), cloudy, humid and slightly windy. The duck was walking near a large lake surrounded by tall trees and a grassy area. This particular duck interacted with organisms of the same species. It walked adjacent to a small group of other Muscovy Ducks, straying away on occasion but always returning to them. The duck was quiet and seemed to be very calm. It had just exited the water so it was drying its feathers. Through my observation, I noticed that the duck had a black and white speckled neck and dark body. It had patches of green feathers on its body as well. Its most distinguishing characteristic was the red bumpy flesh surrounding its eyes and beak. I read two articles that helped me identify this duck. One was published by the Fort Myers Florida Weekly and the other was published by Countryside Daily. Both articles mentioned the uniqueness of the red bumpy flesh surrounding the organisms face.