The Queen looked slightly bemused by the ceremony

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, seemed slightly bemused by the gift.

Mr Morgan knelt on a red velvet stool and, speaking in French, presented the dead ducks to the visiting monarch.

The Queen touched the silver tray which was then handed to the Receiver General for Jersey, Group Captain Richard Green.

Since ducks are a protected species on the island, the dead ones had to be imported from the French mainland.

The ceremony was staged in St Helier's Howard Davies Park where a special sitting of the island's parliament, the States of Jersey, was convened.

The Queen was due to receive a live Jersey cow as well but this had to be cancelled because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

'Open, vibrant democracy'

Instead she unveiled a statue of a cow at the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society headquarters.

The Bailiff of Jersey Sir Philip Bailhache gave a speech, pledging the islanders' allegiance to the Crown and "deep affection, loyalty and respect" to the Queen.

He pointed out Jersey was no longer a feudal society, but was an "open, vibrant democracy".

The Queen and Prince Philip flew by helicopter to Jersey from Guernsey on Friday after island hopping to Alderney and Sark on Thursday.

They flew back to mainland Britain on Friday night.