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Mandarin Duck — printable fact sheet
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Mandarin Duck
Aix galericulata
Aix galericulata is a tree-nesting duck of East Asia, and the drake's plumage includes a feature found in almost no other bird: a pair of "sails", enlarged tertial feathers on the back that stand vertically upright like orange half-moons when the bird is on the water. Combined w…
Did you know?
- After hatching, ducklings leap from their tree nest to the ground, sometimes from heights of over 10 meters, without injury.
- A mandarin drake's upright orange "sails" have no aerodynamic function and are used purely in display, raised and flicked at rivals and hens. The famous "Hot Duck" that appeared in New York's Central Park in 2018 was a lone mandarin drake with no known origin, and it drew crowds and national news coverage for months. Unlike most ducks, mandarins have sharp claws on their webbed feet for gripping bark, which is how they get into tree cavities.
What I learned
Draw the mandarin duck
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