The Mandarin duck is recognized as the world’s most beautiful bird. You will soon realize why!
This bird has gorgeous feathers in a wide variety of colors. Also, the shape of the bird is unique. So naturally, it attracts the attention of bird lovers.
These beautiful creatures are initially from East Asia, where you can see quite a few now. But they can be seen in the United Kingdom as well. Also, they can still be found in China, Japan, Korea, and parts of Russia.
When you look at the history, they say that these Mandarins came with the Chinese emigrants who came down from China and settled in different parts of the world. However, many of them left but left their colonies and decided where they were in various other parts of the world.
The Mandarin Ducks have the most beautiful orange face. The red beak well suits the Orange and complements it. However, the color combination is gorgeous and bright.
The front of the body is colorful with all the purple shades. It is unique and attractive. Also, the back has blue feathers mixed with orange shades in some places. It highlights the colors very well and makes the bird very unique.
Did you know the most beautiful bird is the male? Same as the peacock, the male bird looks attractive and colorful. The Male duck’s colors are beautiful on the head. The sides of the head are creamy-white, and the eyes are highlighted with chestnut patches. They have long feathers at the sides of the cheeks and neck. The maroon feathers at the upper breast are beautiful, and the lower breast has contrasting white feathers. But the female birds are quite different. Compared to the male ducks, they are rather dull in colors with a smaller crest and a smaller eye-ring. The female Mandarin duck has grey feathers with a tint of white. Usually, the females are dull in comparison, with grey heads, brown backs, and white eye stripes.
This beautiful bird can also be seen in North America. But very rarely. These birds live in flocks on park lakes and other wetlands with overhanging trees and many bushes, mainly in South East England and North England, Wales, and Scotland.
When the birds moved to the west, they did not have any natural predators. So the zoologists predicted that these birds would behave very aggressively as they did not have anyone to fear.
These ducks breed fast. Their usual breeding places are the edges of the rivers and lakes. This kind of bird loves this atmosphere and selects it, particularly for breeding.
The mandarin ducks typically like a very dense area to breed. So, the areas covered with bushes are most preferred. If the birds live in the forests, mandarin ducks breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, marshes, and ponds. They prefer to have their nest in cavities in trees close to the water, and during the spring, the females usually lay their eggs in the tree’s hole after mating.
A single clutch is about nine to twelve eggs. Mainly the eggs are laid in April or May. Although the male protects and defends the brooding female and his eggs during incubation, he does not support hatching the eggs. Usually, the male Mandarin Duck leaves before they hatch.
Soon after the ducklings hatch, the mother duck flies to the ground and coaxes the ducklings to leap from the nest. Once the ducklings are out of the tree, they will follow their mother to a nearby pond, lake, or water body.
Even though these birds can breed at high altitudes, they still use these dense brushy areas for laying eggs.
These birds usually feed on small plants and seeds. But they also love the small insects, snails, and tiny fish. However, they do not eat the same type of food every season. Mandarin Ducks feed by exploring or walking on land. These birds mainly eat plants and seeds, especially beech mast. As mentioned above, the diet of mandarin ducks changes seasonally; in the fall and winter, they mostly eat acorns, seeds, and grains. They mainly eat insects, snails, fish, and other water-based plants in the springtime. They eat small worms, small fish, tiny frogs, mollusks, and small snakes in the summer season. The Mandarin ducks feed mainly near dawn or dusk, perching in trees or on the ground during the day.
These birds do not fall into the category of endangered species. Predation of these beautiful birds varies between different parts of their range. Otters, mink, raccoon dogs, polecats, Eurasian eagle owls, and grass snakes are all the most common predators of the mandarin duck. But the greatest threat to the mandarin duck is habitat loss due to loggers. They have a somewhat more significant amount of danger due to the cutting of trees, which makes them lose their habitat. Hunters are also a considerable threat to these mandarin ducks because often, they are unable to recognize the mandarin ducks when flying. As a result, many get shot accidentally. Hunters do not hunt Mandarin ducks for food but are still killed because their extreme beauty is prized.
The Mandarin Ducks are a highly social kind that flies in large flocks during winter. Their pair bond is powerful, and they will have the same mate if they survive for a complete lifetime. The female birds follow their ways to attract male birds.
This small exotic-looking bird is a fantastic creation of nature. Its beauty adds color to the character. Not only that. These birds are used as inspiration in artifacts in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures. We could see them in Chinese pottery work. They symbolize fidelity, and the replicas are used in traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese weddings. Some call these! love birds” as well. The Mandarin duck symbolizes a lifelong relationship connected to the concept of love. So the bird has a significant influence and importance in East Asian traditions and culture.
