The male Mandarin Duck has an eye-catching appearance, with a red bill, large white crescent-shaped feathers above the eyes and a red face and “whiskers”. The chest is purple with two vertical white stripes, the hips are red, with two orange sail-like feathers on the back.

Meanwhile, female ducks have a less eye-catching color, with a plumage that helps them camouflage well in the natural environment. The female duck’s eyes stand out with a ring of white feathers surrounding the eyes.

Like other waterfowl, male mandarin ducks will molt after mating season. The colorful feathers will not grow back immediately, but male ducks will put on brown or gray feathers, looking like other female ducks.

Usually to distinguish them at this time you can look at the characteristic red beak that the female does not have.

Mandarin ducks are native to China, Japan, Korea and eastern Russia. But habitat destruction has greatly reduced mandarin numbers in these areas, and mandarin ducks are tending to thrive outside their native areas. Large populations of these beautiful ducks have been found throughout Europe and in the United States.

Mandarin Duck is famous for being only ‘one husband and one wife’ all his life. This duck species only chooses one companion and lives with it for life. Therefore, the mandarin duck has become a symbol of love and loyalty in East Asian culture. Pairs of mandarin duck statues are often given to newlyweds as feng shui items to maintain a long-term relationship.

Even though they have colorful plumage to attract mates, male ducks still have to work hard to woo female ducks. Males will preen their feathers, puff up their crests, and show off their brilliant “sail” feathers, in addition to making characteristic whistles.

Although they live together as a couple, the mandarin ducks do not undertake the same parenting duties. The male will stay with the female during the incubation period. When the eggs hatch, the mother duck will raise 9 to 12 ducklings herself.

Mother ducks will build nests and lay eggs in cavities in trees up to 30m above the ground and close to water sources. Right after the ducklings hatch, they can only sleep one night in the nest. The next morning, the mother duck flies down, trying to encourage the ducklings to jump out of the nest to quickly find the lake to find food. Even though they could not fly yet, the ducklings launched themselves out of the nest and fell freely to the ground.