Black Cayuga

About the Black Cayuga

The sole standardised colour of the breed, the Black Cayuga carries solid black plumage washed with a brilliant beetle-green lustre that flashes green, blue and purple in sunlight, an effect produced by light refracting off the feather structure rather than pigment. Ducks often develop white flecking with age and, notably, the birds with the brightest sheen tend to whiten earliest, so retaining a clean black bird is a breeding challenge. Recognised by the APA in 1874 (Watch status, Livestock Conservancy), it is a calm, hardy heritage duck whose dark down once made carcasses awkward to pluck for the table.