Bali duck

Bali
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): no data: 63 
  • DAD-IS (2026): unknown        
  • RBST (UK) (2026): not listed
Country of originIndonesia
DistributionUnited Kingdom
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    2.3 kg: 404 
  • Female:
    1.8 kg: 404 
Egg colourfrom white to blue-green
Colourany
Classification
APAno
EElisted, not recognised
PCGBlight
  • duck
  • Anas platyrhynchos

The Bali – also known as the Balinese Crested or Crested Runner – is a rare Indonesian breed of lightweight domestic duck. 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.

History

Crested birds were sometimes seen in the large flocks of ducks reared in Indonesia and other parts of South-East Asia. 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.: 403 : 46  Miss Chisholm called them 'Bali' as she believed they were indigenous to that Indonesian island.: 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.: 46  Stock was re-created in the 1980s and 1990s by cross-breeding Indian Runners with Crested birds.: 46 

The Bali is both recognised and reported to DAD-IS by two countries: Indonesia and the United Kingdom. It is listed, but not recognised, by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture.

In the twenty-first century its conservation status is uncertain: no population numbers have ever been reported to DAD-IS by Indonesia, while an estimated population of 0–100 was reported by the United Kingdom for 2002; in 2026 its conservation status was shown as 'unknown' for both countries. It is not among the breeds on the 2026/2027 watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Characteristics

It is a light duck: median weights are 1.8 kg for ducks and 2.3 kg for drakes.: 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.: 46 : 12  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.

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.: 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.

Notes

  1. ↑ Like almost all domesticated duck breeds, the Bali derives from the wild mallard, Anas platyrhynchos.

References

  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Breed data sheet: Bali / Indonesia (Duck (domestic)). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2026.
  3. 1 2 Watchlist 2026/27. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.
  5. 1 2 Bali. Domestic Waterfowl UK. Archived 17 July 2025.
  6. ↑ APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  7. 1 2 Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Ducks. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Light Ducks. British Waterfowl Association. Archived 12 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Dave Holderread (2011). Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, second edition. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781603427456.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Chris Ashton, Mike Ashton (2008). The Domestic Duck. Ramsbury, Marlborough: The Crowood Press. ISBN 9781847970503.
  12. 1 2 3 Breed data sheet: Bali / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Duck (domestic)). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2026.
  13. ↑ Sofjan Sudardjat (2007). National Report on Animal Genetic Resources Indonesia: A Strategic Policy Document. Archived 16 June 2012. Annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 10 January 2017.