# Magpie duck

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.$^{:46}$

## History

The Magpie was bred after the end of the First World War by M.C. Gower-Williams in Wales and Oliver Drake in Yorkshire. The ancestry of the breed is not known; it may have included the Indian Runner, possibly with some influence of the Huttegem of Belgium. The Magpie was first described in 1921; a breeders' club was formed in 1926, and a breed standard published in a supplement to the Poultry Club Standards in that year.$^{:461}$ At that time, two colour varieties were recognised by the club, the black-and-white and the blue-and-white. The black-and-white variant remained the only colour recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain until 1997, when blue-and-white and dun-and-white were recognised; the chocolate-and-white variant, developed by breeders in Germany, was later added.$^{:430}$
The Altrheiner Elsterenten, a duck with the same plumage pattern as the Magpie, was bred in Germany in the 1970s by Paul-Erwin Oswald. The Entente Européenne treats it as the same breed.
The Magpie was exported to the United States in 1963,$^{:193}$ but was not widely kept. It was admitted to the American Standard of Perfection in 1977.$^{:58}$
The conservation status of the Magpie is not clear: it was listed as 'critical' by the FAO in 2007,$^{:124}$ and as 'unknown' in the DAD-IS database in 2022. It was not among the breeds listed as 'priority' on the 2021–2-22 watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The most recent population data reported to DAD-IS dates from 2002, when the total number of birds was estimated to be between 60 and 100.

## Characteristics

The Magpie was originally bred to have black-and-white markings reminiscent of those of the magpie, Pica pica: White, with black on the top of the head, a black back and tail, and black scapulars which form a heart-shaped black area on the back when the wings are folded.$^{:430}$ With age the black may become flecked with white or wholly white. Three other colour varieties with the same pattern are recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain: blue-and-white, dun-and-white and chocolate-and-white.$^{:463}$
The birds are of medium size; drakes weigh some 2.5–3.2 kg (5.5–7 lb), ducks 2.0–2.7 kg (4.5–6 lb). The body is carried at an angle of about 35° to the horizontal when the bird is in motion.$^{:463}$ The neck is long and curved, the breast full, and the back broad. The bill is broad and long; it is yellow when the bird is young, turning with age to grey-green in ducks and green-spotted yellow in drakes.$^{:430}$ The legs and feet are orange, sometimes with dark mottling.$^{:430}$
The American Poultry Association recognises only the blue and black colour varieties, and recommends a slightly lower body weight.

## Use

The Magpie is commonly reared for showing. It was originally bred as a commercial or utility bird, to provide meat and eggs. As the breast is white, the carcase plucks cleanly. Ducks lay approximately 80 eggs per year; they vary in colour from white to pale green, and weigh about 65 g.$^{:20}$ The 'Paramount' strain reared by Oliver Drake in the early twentieth century reportedly laid 185 eggs per year, and reached slaughter weight in about 11 weeks.