Perching ducks, Cairina moschata, had been domesticated by various Native American cultures in the New World when Columbus arrived.

A few are first brought to Europe by the European explorers, probably Spaniards, at least by the 1500s.

The Muscovy Company, also called the Muscovite Company, a trading company chartered in 1555, begins shipping the ducks to Europe.

It is believed that the ducks came to be interchangeably called Muscovite ducks, or Muscovy ducks in keeping with the common practice of attaching the importer's name to the products they sold.

Over the years, Muscovy will become more colloquial than Muscovite.