![mountain duck image dimensions mountain duck image dimensions](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519CH6AC0NL._SX300_.jpg)
![mountain duck image dimensions mountain duck image dimensions](https://images.all-free-download.com/images/graphiclarge/duck_animal_wild_ducks_236666.jpg)
Mandarin ducks featured on the flag of Weihaiwei during British rule.
![mountain duck image dimensions mountain duck image dimensions](http://www.wildfowl-photography.co.uk/wildfowl/australian-shelduck/images1/img_0065.jpg)
For example, the drink yuanyang and yuan-yang fried rice. Because the male and female plumages of the mandarin duck are so unalike, 'yuan-yang' is frequently used colloquially in Cantonese to mean an "odd couple" or "unlikely pair" – a mixture of two different types of same category. A mandarin duck symbol is also used in Chinese weddings because in traditional Chinese lore, they symbolize wedded bliss and fidelity. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art.Ī Chinese proverb for loving couples uses the mandarin duck as a metaphor: "Two mandarin ducks playing in water" (simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯戏水 traditional Chinese: 鴛鴦戲水 pinyin: yuānyāng xì shuǐ). In traditional Chinese culture, mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. The Chinese refer to Mandarin ducks as yuanyang ( simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯 traditional Chinese: 鴛鴦 pinyin: yuānyāng), where 'yuan' ( 鴛) and 'yang' ( 鴦) respectively stand for male and female mandarin ducks. Porcelain winepot in the form of a mandarin duck, decorated in overglaze enamels, Qing dynasty, circa 1760 Behaviour Ĭompared to other ducks, mandarins are shy birds, preferring to seek cover under trees such as overhanging willows, and form smaller flocks, but may become bolder as a result of becoming tame from frequent interaction with humans. In its introduced European range, it lives in more open habitat than in its native range, around the edges of lakes, water meadows, and cultivated areas with woods nearby. While it prefers fresh water, it may also be seen wintering in coastal lagoons and estuaries. In winter, it additionally occurs in marshes, flooded fields, and open rivers. It mostly occurs in low-lying areas, but it may breed in valleys at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). The habitats it prefers in its breeding range are the dense, shrubby forested edges of rivers and lakes. In 2018, a single bird, dubbed Mandarin Patinkin, was seen in New York City's Central Park. This population is the result of several ducks escaping from captivity, then reproducing in the wild. The town of Black Mountain, North Carolina, has a limited population, and a free-flying feral population of several hundred mandarins exist in Sonoma County, California. Isolated populations exist in the United States. Now, about 7,000 are in Britain with other populations on the European continent, the largest of which is in the region of Berlin. Specimens frequently escape from collections, and in the 20th century, a large, feral population was established in Great Britain more recently, small numbers have bred in Ireland, concentrated in the parks of Dublin. The Asian populations are migratory, overwintering in lowland eastern China and southern Japan. The species was once widespread in East Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of its forest habitat have reduced populations in eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country Japan, however, is thought to still hold some 5,000 pairs. Although the origin of this mutation is unknown, the constant pairing of related birds and selective breeding is presumed to have led to recessive gene combinations, leading in turn to genetic conditions including leucism. The most common is the white mandarin duck. Various mutations of the mandarin duck are found in captivity. The ducklings can be distinguished from mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of mandarin ducklings (and wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill. Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in appearance to wood ducklings, and very similar to mallard ducklings. When in eclipse plumage, the male looks similar to the female, but can be told apart by its bright yellow-orange or red beak, lack of any crest, and a less-pronounced eye-stripe. Like many other species of ducks, the male undergoes a moult after the mating season into eclipse plumage. īoth the males and females have crests, but the purple crest is more pronounced on the male. The female is similar to the female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill. The male's breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, and he has two orange "sails" at the back (large feathers that stick up like boat sails). The adult male has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers".