The
American Pekin duck,
Pekin duck, or
Long Island duck (
Anas platyrhynchos domestica, or
Anas peking), is a breed of
domestic duck used primarily for egg and
meat production. It was bred from the
mallard in
China. The ancestors of those ducks originated from the
canals which linked waterways in
Nanjing and originally had small bodies and black feathers. With the relocation of the Chinese capital to
Beijing, supply barge traffic increased in the area which would often spill
grain on which the ducks fed. Over time, the ducks slowly increased in size and grew white feathers. By the
Five Dynasties, the new breed of duck had been domesticated by Chinese farmers.