Livestock

By far, the most abundant species of cultivated fowl is the chicken (Gallus gallus), derived from the red jungle fowl of the tropical forests of south and southeastern Asia. The chicken has been domesticated for thousands of years, and may today be the world's most abundant bird, albeit in cultivation. Billions of chickens are eaten each year by people around the world, as are even larger numbers of chicken eggs.

Several species of ducks have been domesticated for agricultural purposes. The most commonly cultivated duck is derived from the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), which was domesticated in China about two thousand years ago. Domesticated mallards are usually white in color, and are sometimes called Peking ducks. The muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is less common, and was domesticated by South Americans prior to the European colonization of the Americas.

Two commonly raised species of domesticated goose are derived from the greyleg goose (Anser anser) of Eurasia. This goose may have been domesticated about four thousand years ago, and it now occurs in various agricultural races, most of which are white in color. A less common, domesticated species is the swan goose (A. cygnoides).

The common turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), native to North America and Mexico, was first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, long before the Spanish conquest. Domestic turkeys are typically white, although some varieties are black. Domestic turkeys are raised for their meat, and for this reason have been selected to have large breast muscles.

Other birds raised as food include the domestic pigeon (Columba livia), and the domestic Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), among others.