Bali duck
Indonesian breed of duck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bali – also known as the Balinese Crested or Crested Runner – is a rare Indonesian breed of lightweight domestic duck.[10] It is a light duck with an upright stance, broadly similar in most respects to the Indian Runner, but distinguished from it by a slightly heavier build and the presence of a small ball-shaped crest on the back of the head.[a]
History
Crested birds were sometimes seen in the large flocks of ducks reared in Indonesia and other parts of South-East Asia.[10] Some crested ducks of Indian Runner type were imported from Malaya to the United Kingdom in 1925 by a Miss Chisholm and a Miss Davidson.[4]: 403 [11]: 46 Miss Chisholm called them 'Bali' as she believed they were indigenous to that Indonesian island.[11]: 46 The Bali was recognised as a breed by the Poultry Club of Great Britain in 1930, and the breed standard was included in the British Poultry Standards in 1954 and again in 1982; however, doubts were expressed as to whether any of the birds remained.[11]: 46 Stock was re-created in the 1980s and 1990s by cross-breeding Indian Runners with Crested birds.[11]: 46
The Bali is both recognised and reported to DAD-IS by two countries: Indonesia and the United Kingdom.[2][12] It is listed, but not recognised, by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture.[7]
In the twenty-first century its conservation status is uncertain: no population numbers have ever been reported to DAD-IS by Indonesia,[2] while an estimated population of 0–100 was reported by the United Kingdom for 2002;[12] in 2026 its conservation status was shown as 'unknown' for both countries.[2][12] It is not among the breeds on the 2026/2027 watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.[3]
Characteristics
It is a light duck: median weights are 1.8 kg for ducks and 2.3 kg for drakes.[4]: 404 It is in most respects morphologically similar to the Indian Runner and to the related Tegal and Mojosari breeds of Indonesia – it is a slender bird with an upright stance and flat head with high-set eyes, and moves at a fast run.[11]: 46 [13]: 12 [10] The main distinction from the Runner is the presence of a ball-shaped crest on the back of the head; other differences are a slightly heavier build in the body and a slightly less delicate head.[10]
The breed standard of the Poultry Club of Great Britain allows for the birds to be of any colour; a description is given only of the white, which has white plumage, an orange-yellow bill, orange webs and legs, and blue eyes.[4]: 403
Use
The birds are most commonly kept for exhibition. Ducks may lay some 120 to 250 eggs per year, varying in colour from white to blue-green.[5]