Mandarin duck - Aix galericulata

Common Name :	Mandarin duck.
Binomial Name :	Aix galericulata
Family :	Anatidae
Photo Taken :	Ireland

Mandarin duck is a duck bird native to East China, Japan, Eastern Asia and surrounding region. During the middle of 18th century this bird was introduced in UK and Ireland. But that was in captivity. During last century they have been introduced in wild and that's why they are not a rare bird in to the isle of Ireland anymore. In fact you can find this beautiful duck in other European countries as well (i.e. Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, etc).

I didn't know that I could see this bird in Ireland. That's why surprised when I've seen quite a few Mandarin ducks were wandering around a small pond at Phoenix park, Dublin. Mandarin duck's binomial name is Aix galericulata. It belongs to the bird family Anatidae. Unlike the other ducks the Mandarin ducks can be arboreal, which means they can perch on a tree.

Male and female of Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) are different in look. Male duck is very colorful and one of the most colorful ducks in the world. Bill of the male duck is lipstick red in color with a white tip at tip. The prominent color of the duck is chestnut or brown with several line of white in different places. The crest of male looks like back-brushed hair with prominent white at both sides around eyes. Throat, front of head and some part of wings are glossy dark blue in color.

The darker one is the female Mandarin duck.

Female Mandarin duck is spotted with blackish brown in color. The head is ashy in color with a white circle around eyes. Female is also having a crest but not that much prominent compare to male. During the breeding season the male changes its color similar to the female but easily distinguished by the bright red bill.

A male Mandarin duck swimming.

Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) live near the pond, river, shallow water. During breeding season they make nest in dense wood which is near to the pond or waterbody. The diet of these ducks varies from season to season. They feed on small nuts, seeds, frogs, tadpoles, small fishes, grains, snails, aquatic plants, etc.

Only head of the female Mandarin duck is visible in this photo.

Two males and one female Mandarin duck.

These ducks got lazy. They rely on the feeding from the visitors of the park. Few of them are Mandarin ducks.

Photos of Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) were taken from a pond near the Phoenix park during November 2017. FYI, the phoenix park is located in Dublin, Ireland.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/