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.