Hook Bill

The Hook Bill or Dutch Hookbill (Dutch: Kromsnaveleend or Krombekeend[10]) is a breed of domestic duck characterised by an unusual down-curved beak.[11][12] It is an ancient breed, and has been documented since the seventeenth century. Speculation that it originated in Asia,[13] or is related to the Indian Runner, is apparently unsubstantiated.[14]

Hook Bill
Drake
Conservation status
Other names
  • Kromsnaveleend[4]
  • Krombekeend[5]
  • Noord Hollandse Krombekeend[3]
  • Dutch Hookbill[4]
  • Hook-billed Duck
Country of originNetherlands
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    2.0–2.25 kg[6]: 417 
  • Female:
    1.6–2.0 kg[6]: 417 
Classification
APAno[7]
EEyes[8]
PCGBlight[9]
Notes
may be crested[8]
  • Duck
  • Anas platyrhyncos

History
"The Hook-bill'd Duck", copper engraving by Lady Emma Willughby, from Ornithologiæ Libri Tres by Francis Willughby, 1676

The origins of the Hook Bill are unknown. The earliest published illustration and description appear to be those in the Ornithologiæ Libri Tres of Francis Willughby, published in 1676.[14][15]: 294  Willughby's book is in Latin; when it was re-published by John Ray in English in 1678, the description of the Hook-billed Duck was:[14][16]: 381 

In shape of body and outward lineaments it is very like the common tame Duck; differs chiefly in the Bill, which is broad, something longer than the common Ducks, and bending moderately downward. The Head also is lesser and slenderer than the common Ducks. It is said to be a better layer.

Around 100 years ago there were many, as duck eggs were more sold than chicken eggs, but now its worldwide population in captivity is estimated to be no more than 800 individual egg-laying females.[10] It is now considered an endangered duck breed.[1]: 141 

Some were taken to the United States in 2000; the breed is not among those listed in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association.[5]

In 2007 the conservation status of the Hook Bill was listed by the FAO as "endangered" at European level. In 2020 it was reported to DAD-IS as "at risk", while the Dutch Stichting Zeldzame Huisdierrassen classified it as "critical",[3] as did the Livestock Conservancy in the United States.[5] It was not on the rare breed watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the United Kingdom.[17]

Characteristics

The Hook Bill is a light duck, with an average weight of approximately 2 kg.[6]: 417  Three colour variants are recognised in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom:[8] the dusky mallard has a black head and rump with green lustre, the body in shades of grey with no white neck-ring, and a slate-grey beak; the white-bibbed dusky mallard is similarly coloured, but with a distinct white chest-bib and white-tipped wing primaries; the white has pure white plumage, blue eyes, bright orange legs and a flesh-pink bill.[6]: 417  A further seventeen colours are listed for Germany by the Entente Européenne, but are not accepted in the European standard.[8]

Use

The Hook Bill may be kept for ornament or for exhibition, but is also a good layer: ducks may give between 100 and 225 white or greenish-blue eggs per year.[5]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hook Bill.
  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed January 2017.
  2. Breed data sheet: Krombek / Netherlands (Duck (domestic)). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2020.
  3. Noord Hollandse krombekeend (in Dutch). Wageningen: Stichting Zeldzame Huisdierrassen. Archived 1 February 2020.
  4. Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
  5. Dutch Hookbill Duck. The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 5 May 2019.
  6. Victoria Roberts (2008). British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
  7. APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  8. Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  9. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 30 June 2017.
  10. Krombekeend (in Dutch). Stichting Levende Have. Archived 5 October 2016.
  11. Chris Ashton, Mike Ashton (2001). The Domestic Duck. Ramsbury, Marlborough: The Crowood Press. ISBN 9781847979704.
  12. Dave Holderread (2011). Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, second edition. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781603427456.
  13. Breed Gallery: Ducks. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 January 2019.
  14. Jonathan M. Thompson (2018). The Hook-billed Duck: An Anthology. The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 31 January 2020.
  15. Francis Willughby, John Ray, Emma Willughby (1676). Ornithologiæ Libri Tres. Londini: Impensis Joannis Martyn.
  16. John Ray (1678). The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of Warwick, esq.. [London]: A.C. for John Martin.
  17. Ducks watchlist. Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 3 May 2019.
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