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Mandarin
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Scientific Name Aix galericulata
Classification
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Physical Description
Male Mandarin ducks are considered by many to be the most beautifully colored of all waterfowl. The head of the male has a chestnut and green crest, a wide white stripe along the eye, a bright chestnut colored side and a red bill. The male's breast is plum colored, its belly is white, its back is dark and its sides are mottled buff. For most of the summer, the male Mandarin ducks do not have their distinctive plumage and look very much like the females. Following the breeding season, the males molt all of their colorful feathers, which do not re-grow until sometime in the fall. The female has a crested head with a white eye-ring, a gray-brown mottled back and a lighter spotted belly. She appears very similar to the female American wood duck as the two species are closely related. Mandarin ducks are one of the "perching" ducks. They have sharp talons and spend much of their time in trees.
Range
Mandarin ducks' native range is eastern Asia and Japan. Populations now also live in western Europe and Great Britain where humans introduced them.
Habitat
Mandarin ducks reside in wooded inland waters.
Diet
In the wild, Mandarin ducks eat vegetable matter and invertebrates.
In the Zoo, they eat waterfowl pellets and greens.
Life Span
Specific information on the Mandarin duck's life span is unavailable. However, the closely related American wood duck can live almost as long as 20 years.
Reproduction
Mandarin ducks have an elaborate courtship display involving whistling calls, raising of crests and sail feathers, head-bobbing and mutual preening. They nest in the holes of hollow tree trunks and use grass to cover the base of the nest cavity to which they add a soft layer of down. Primarily it is the female that incubates her clutch of 9–12 eggs. Chicks hatch after 28–30 days and, when just one day old, jump from the nest to the ground and head for water. The ducklings stay close to the female for about eight weeks at which time they are able to fly and fend for themselves. The male takes no role in the rearing process, leaving before the eggs hatch.
Behavior
Mandarin ducks are forest birds that spend more time in trees than most other ducks. Populations on the Asian mainland are migratory, whereas the Japanese population appears not to be. The courtship display of the Mandarin duck is quite elaborate.
Adaptations
Mandarin ducks have sharp and fairly long claws that are used to perch in trees and move around in the forest. |
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- Sneza
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 94 W: 30 N: 16]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-s.gif)
(672) - [2005-08-24 3:25]
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I like Your picture.
Beautiful colours and details.
Good DOF.
Well done Scott.
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- sway
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 303 W: 85 N: 308]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(1224) - [2005-08-24 3:44]
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HI Scott,
Great shot. Wonderful details.
These duck have beautiful colours, you have captured them well.
:)
intresting image.
good DOF and nice focus.
very good colors.
well done.
Well done on a great shot. Sorry this is rushed, almost out of battery power on my note book. Well done. Thanks.
What great colours and so much detail in the shot, you've done yourself proud here.
![Silver Note Writer [C: 0 W: 0 N: 64]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/n-n-s.gif){kind=small}
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 19 W: 0 N: 15]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-n-s.gif)
(56)