that puts on as much as a third of its carcass weight in fat for fuel and under-skin insulation Ducks are eaten at two ages: in the egg as 15–20-day embryos (the Philippine boiled delicacy balut), and at to 16 weeks The Muscovy duck is an entirely different b i r d : Cairina moschata, the greater wood duck, which is native to the west coast of Central and northern South America, differs in three important ways from mallard varieties: it lays down about a third less body fat, grows significantly larger, and has a more pronounced flavor Squab, dove, and pigeon are various names for the European rock dove, Columba livia, a species that includes the common city pigeon; “squab” means a bird young enough that it has never flown Its flying muscles weigh five times as much as its leg muscles Today, domestic squab are raised for four weeks and slaughtered at about 1 lb/450 g, just before they’re mature enough to fly Game Animals and Birds Wild animals — sometimes called game or venison — have always been especially prized in the autumn, when they fatten themselves for the coming winter While the autumn game season is still celebrated in many European restaurants with wild duck, hare, pheasant, partridge, deer, and boar, in the United States wild meats are banned from commerce (only inspected meat can be sold legally, and hunted meat is not inspected) Most “game” meats available to the U.S consumer these days come from animals raised on farms and ranches They’re perhaps better described as “semi-domestic” meats Some of these animals have been raised in captivity since Roman times, but haven’t been as intensively bred as the domesticated animals, and so are still much like their wild counterparts ...Game Animals and Birds Wild animals — sometimes called game or venison — have always been especially prized in the autumn, when they fatten themselves for the coming winter While the autumn game season is still celebrated in many... pheasant, partridge, deer, and boar, in the United States wild meats are banned from commerce (only inspected meat can be sold legally, and hunted meat is not inspected) Most “game” meats available to the U.S consumer these days come from animals... Most “game” meats available to the U.S consumer these days come from animals raised on farms and ranches They’re perhaps better described as “semi-domestic” meats Some of these animals have been raised in