Welsh Harlequin

Black and White photo of Welsh Harlequin Duck from 1946 from the Bonnet Family Collection

Photo by Antoine M Public Domain

Photo by Uikitireza CC

Origin: Wales, United Kingdom

Category: Light Breed Duck

Egg Colour: White or Greenish

Sitter: Not usually

The Welsh Harlequin is a breed of domestic duck originating in Wales. In 1949, in Criccieth, Group Captain Leslie Bonnet discovered a colour mutation among his flock of Khaki Campbells and began selective breeding for the trait. Two light coloured sports of pure Khaki Campbell ducks he was keeping were bred together and he named them Honey Campbells.

In an act of clever advertising their name was changed around 1950. Leslie Bonnet had moved to a farm in North Wales around 1950. There he wanted to sell them to 'a wealthy local woman who kept a show farm, on which all the animals were Welsh'. And voilà, the Welsh Harlequin was born and the new name was a success. By 1968, he began to send eggs overseas including to the United States.

Tragically, in 1968, a fox destroyed most of Bonnet's flock but an enthusiast called Eddie Grayson had some of the original Welsh Harlequins and crossed these with the original strain of Khaki Campbells, reviving the breed and stabilising the colour form.

Today, the Welsh Harlequin is a light-weight duck breed known for its vivid plumage and egg laying ability. Over the years the colour and conformation of the breed has changed, indicating that likely new blood of another breed has been introduced.

The birds produce a lean carcass and are active foragers, though they are sometimes more vulnerable to predators such as birds of prey due to their light colouration. The egg laying ability is highly valued as the production exhibited by some ducks rivals that of hens. The breed is prone to broodiness and a pair can easily produce young without human interference. They have become a popular backyard pet in recent years due to the bird's calm demeanor and high egg production.

Welsh Harlequins have a unique, natural sex-linked characteristic. As day olds, sex can be determined based on bill colour with over 90% accuracy. Young drakes will have darker bills while female with have lighter with a dark spot at the tip of the bill.

The Welsh Harlequin was admitted to the British Standards in 1997, the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 2001 and the Australian Poultry Standards in its first edition in 1998. In North America it is watched by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. In Australia it is considered by the Rare Breeds Trust to be endangered.

Classification: Light

Purpose: Egg layer and table bird

Colours: In Australia and in the U.K. the only recognised colour for the Welsh Harlequin is Brown Silver. It has a distinctive bronze/green speculum (whereas the Abacot Ranger is similar in colouring but has the iridescent blue speculum of the wild Mallard). The drake has a bronze lustre on his head (the head of the drake of the Abacot Ranger is metallic green).

Eggs: White or greenish colour, 240 - 330 eggs/year

SHAPE - DRAKE AND DUCK

Carriage: Alert, somewhat upright, the head held high. Shoulders having greater elevation than the saddle, and the back showing a gentle downward slant. The whole carriage moderately erect (around 35 degrees) and not so low as to result in waddling. Activity and energy to be retained without loss of body depth or width.

Type: Body deep, wide and compact, sides appearing slightly compressed, retaining depth throughout, especially from shoulders to chest and from middle of back through to thighs; broad and well-rounded front. Back wide, flat and of medium length, gently sloping with shoulders higher than the saddle. Abdomen well developed at rear of legs but not sagging; well rounded underline of breast and stern. Wings closely carried and rather high. Tail short and small, rising slightly.

Head: Head somewhat fine and free of coarseness in jaw and skull. Face full and smooth. Bill well set in a straight line with the top of the skull - of medium length and of proportionate appearance. Eyes full, bright, bold and high in the skull. Slender neck of medium length held almost erect.

Legs and feet: Legs of moderate length, positioned not too far back, having straight and well structured feet. Legs set well apart to allow of good abdominal development, as befits a laying fowl.

Plumage: Tight, yet soft and smooth.

COLOUR - DRAKE

Head and upper neck: Rich dark brown with bronze-green sheen, extending almost to the shoulders, where a 0.5 - 1.5 cm wide, clear white ring completely encircles the neck. The white ring is finer and more crisply defined at the front than it is at the back.

Breast, neck base and shoulders: rich red-brown mahogany, finely laced with white. This colour extends along the upper flank to the upper thigh coverts.

Underbody and stern: Creamy white

Back: Upper back feathers white, finely stippled with red-brown mahogany and laced with white. Stippling becomes heavier lower down the back, preferably with each feather edged with white until graduated to slate grey on the lower back, meeting with the rump which is beetle green.

Tail: Dark brown edged with white; undertail bronze.

Wings: Primaries off-white, overlaid with brown. Speculum bronze with green lustre, bordered by a very fine line of white. Wing coverts light mahogany laced with creamy white. Scapulars and tertials as for the breast colour, laced with creamy white which gives a rich tortoiseshell effect. Underwing creamy-white.

Bill: Olive green free of any hint of blue. Black bean. then sol Eyes: Dark brown.

Legs and webs: Orange.

COLOUR - DUCK

Head and upper neck: Honey-fawn with brown graining on the crown.

Main body feathers: Fawn to cream; central shaft of feathers marked with brown. These markings less distinct on breast and underbody.

Rump: Mid-brown with darker brown cetral streak to each feather.

Tail: Mid-brown.

Wings: Primaries brown edged with white, slightly darker than the drake. Speculum bronze. Well defined lacing on the wing coverts. Scapulars a mixture of fawn, red-brown and cream producing a rich, tortoiseshell effect. Underwing creamy-white.

Bill: Dark slate tinged with green.

Eyes: Dark brown.

Legs and webs: Orange brown in young birds, dark brown in mature birds.

Colour genetics: Dusky Mallard (md), Harlequin Phase (lih), Brown Dilution (d).

The bronze colour of the head and the speculum is a result of the sex-linked, recessive brown dilution gene. The rim of white on the secondaries is indicative of the recessive harlequin gene.

Availability: Rare

STANDARD WEIGHTS

Standard Drake 2.30 - 2.50 kg

Standard Duck 2.00 - 2.30 kg

Bantams to be approximately one-third of the the weight of standard.

Scale of Points

Carriage: 10

Head, bill and neck: 15

Body: 15

Legs and feet: 5

Condition: 10

Colour: 35

Size: 10

The points above are the same as those given in the British Poultry Standards sixth edition. In the Australian Poultry Standards they have reduced colour to 30 and increased carriage to 15.