Black East Indies Ducks have black feathers with a green shimmer on them, short, black bills, and black or grey legs.
Females may have a few white tail feathers, and patches of white elsewhere as they get older.
The males will weigh up to 5 to 6 pounds (2 ¼ to 2 ¾ kg); females up to 4 to 5 pounds (1.8 to 2 ¼ kg.)
The eggs will weigh about 55g.
History Notes
The Black East Indies Ducks breed possibly dates back to 1831. The London Zoological Society seems to have kept specimens then, under the name of “Buenos Ayres” duck
That being said, there is no evidence of a “Buenos Ayres” or East Indies origin, for that matter.
The duck has has also been called Labrador duck. Real Labrador ducks were hunted to extinction by 1878.
The Black East Indies Ducks breed was standardized in the UK in 1865.