Mandarin duck
The Mandarin duck, originally from China, is a strikingly colorful bird found throughout Asia, known for its unique male plumage. Males are particularly notable for their vibrant and intricate colors, while females resemble the more subdued coloration of female wood ducks. These ducks typically inhabit wooded rivers and lakes, where they live in small flocks and prefer dense vegetation for cover. As dabbling ducks, they feed on a variety of plants, insects, and small aquatic animals, displaying omnivorous feeding habits primarily in the early morning and evening.
Reproduction occurs in the spring, with males competing for females during this time. After mating, females select tree holes to nest, laying 9 to 12 eggs. Unique among duck species, Mandarin ducks cannot interbreed with other ducks due to differing chromosome numbers. Additionally, fascinatingly, a female Mandarin duck may transform into a male if her functional ovary fails, though this new male remains infertile. Mandarin ducks generally have a lifespan of three to six years in the wild and can live up to 10 years in captivity, and they are currently not considered a threatened species.
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Mandarin duck
Mandarin ducks originated in China, although they can be found throughout Asia. Thousands of these ducks were once exported from China all around the world to private collectors. The male is unique among ducks for the color and design of his plumage, and the female looks very much like a female wood duck. Mandarin ducks are the only species which cannot interbreed with other ducks because they have a different number of chromosomes.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Aix
Species: Galericulata
Mandarin ducks prefer to live near wooded rivers and lakes in small flocks. Dense vegetation allows these shy birds to enter and leave the water quietly and unobserved. These ducks measure around 16 to 19 inches (41 to 49 centimeters) long and generally weigh 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds (less than one kilogram). The duck's wingspan averages 26 to 30 inches (65 to 75 centimeters). Females are generally larger than males.
As in many species of birds, the female is not as colorful as the male. Even though this is true, the female still has attractive brownish-yellow plumage with dark patches near her rump. Her underside is white. She has a short neck and cheek feathers underneath the white stripe which runs through each of her eyes. She looks very similar to a female wood duck. The male mandarin is more easily recognized and more famous for his plumage than is the female. The male has solid and finely speckled brown plumage on his back and wings. White markings also stripe his breast and back. Small blue patches are tucked near the broad, chestnut-orange rump feathers. These rump feathers are the same color as the many, fine cheek feathers beneath his eyes. A dark crest tops his head, and large white patches surround both of his eyes. The male's many bright colors change from season to season. He also has a red beak, while the female has a dull-colored beak.
Mandarin ducks belong to a group of ducks described as dabbling ducks. These ducks feed from the surface or tip their bodies forward with their tails in the air and their heads underwater. Mandarin ducks are omnivores, or animals that eat plants and meat. Underwater, they find plants and other animals to eat. Mandarins mainly eat plants, but they also catch insects, snails, and small fish. Occasionally they will eat frogs, worms, and small snakes. Flooded rice fields, wheat fields, and marshes also are sources of food. They feed most often in the morning and evening and rest quietly in or near the water during the rest of the day.
As with many other species in the animal kingdom, the male mandarin's colors help him attract a mate when breeding season arrives. During April and May the males compete with one another for females. After mating, the female selects a nest site in a tree hole and begins laying her nine to 12 white, oval eggs, one each day for nine to 12 days. The male does not help her incubate the eggs or care for the chicks once they hatch. After one month, the chicks hatch, and they jump and tumble to the ground not many days later. Once on the ground, the chicks follow their mother to the water and to food sources. At six weeks of age, they are independent, but they stay in the area until the next breeding season. The opportunity to mate for the first time comes when the ducks are one year old. A male and female may remain together for a few breeding seasons, but eventually find new mates.
One interesting fact about reproduction in Mandarin ducks is that they are the only species of ducks which cannot breed with other duck species. All of the other duck species may interbreed because they have the same number of chromosomes as each other, but Mandarin ducks have a different number of chromosomes. Chromosomes are tiny cells which one can only see under special high-power microscopes. These cells contain the information, called genes, which make each living creature what it is and not some other creature.
A second interesting fact is that the female Mandarin duck has only one ovary which works. An ovary is an organ in female animals and persons which produces eggs. In a female Mandarin duck, if this working ovary fails to produce eggs, then her second ovary develops into an organ found in the male duck. The female then becomes a male duck, but one which is unable to breed.
Mink, raccoon dogs, otters, eagles, owls, polecats, and snakes are all predators of the mandarin duck. The life span of Mandarin ducks is three to six years in the wild and up to 10 years in captivity. They are not a threatened species.
Bibliography
Harris, Marie S. “ADW: Aix Galericulata: Information.” Animal Diversity Web, 1999, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aix‗galericulata. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
“Mandarin Duck Facts and Information.” SeaWorld.org, 2024, seaworld.org/animals/facts/birds/mandarin-duck. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.