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ForestCavity nestLarge · 567 g
What the Mandarin Duck sounds like
ID tip
The mandarin duck is among the smaller species of waterfowl, with a shorter body and smaller overall body size than most dabbling ducks, and is slightly smaller than its American wood duck relative. The adult male has a small red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The male's breast is purple with two vertical white bars, the flanks ruddy, and has two orange 'sail' feathers at the back (modified 12th secondary flight feathers whose enlarged medial vane sticks up similar to boat sails).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Mandarin Duck
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Mandarin Duck
The map shades 59 countries with regular records, and 10 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in India, New Zealand, Australia, Colombia, Chile, Luxembourg, Ecuador, Malaysia, Brazil, Latvia.
About the Mandarin Duck
The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to East and Northeast Asia. It is sexually dimorphic; the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colours. It is a medium-sized duck, at 41–49 cm (16–19 in) long with a 65–75 cm (26–30 in) wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. 'Aix' is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and 'galericulata' is the Latin for a wig, derived from galerum, a cap or bonnet.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side: Mandarin Duck vs Wood Duck · Mandarin Duck vs Spur-winged Goose
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