Anyone who once saw a duck mandarin duck will inevitably want to know the name of this colorful bird. Often it can be seen in zoos, where you can get acquainted with the information about what kind of bird is a mandarin duck, where it lives and what is interesting.
The name of the most beautiful duck mandarin duck in the world was not due to citrus fruit. In ancient China, it was considered prestigious to keep these birds in the pond, and this pleasure was not cheap, available only to aristocrats. Tangerines - this is the representatives of the Chinese nobility, dressed up in bright elegant clothes. In their honor, the mandarin bird received its name. It is also called the "Chinese duck".
Mandarin Duck: description of wild birds
Mandarin - a small bird, weighing from 500 to 800 g, has a length of from 40 to 50 cm. Mandarin duck belongs to the genus of forest ducks.
The males in the mating season, which lasts almost the entire year, beginning in September and ending in July, wear a motley luxurious outfit of white, green, purple, orange, brown, red colors that can fancifully flow into one another. On the head and neck, the drakes acquire whiskers and a tuft; at the ends of the wings, an orange veil, which, when the wings are folded, rises up. On a back they develop in a saddle, characteristic of birds. Their paws are yellow, their beaks are red.
Females with a white belly, set eyes and a tuft on a graceful head, like most females in nature, have a modest color of brown, olive and gray shades. 
Mandarin Duck - Waterfowl, therefore, it dives and floats perfectly, and also runs quickly over land and is excellent, flies maneuverable.
Did you know? Mandarin Duck is the only duck in nature that does not quack, but whines and whistles softly, lives high in trees and masterfully plans from a great height, cannot interbreed with other ducks due to the smaller number of chromosomes in the genotype.
Life cycle features
The mandarin duck lives near the river, lives in small flocks, when the breeding season is over, can join the herd of other ducks. She likes to get food early in the morning and at sunset, during the daytime she prefers to lurk, resting, in thickets and trees.
Where does the mandarin duck live
The Far East, the Amur River basin, forest territories of Primorye, Sakhalin - these are the natural territories inhabited by the mandarin duck. In the winter she flies to China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. This is a red-book bird, the hunt for which is prohibited. Hunters are guided by the way the mandarin bird looks like: you cannot confuse such bright plumage with anything. When the male sheds the plumage, he becomes indistinguishable from the female, and the hunters may confuse him with other ducks.
Important! Mandarin has not one animal among natural enemies: marten, fox, raccoon, squirrel, even birds of prey ravage its nests.Ideal habitat for birds - forest near the river, but it can settle on the rocks located near the river.
These birds love to make their nests in trees, sometimes at a huge height of up to 10 meters. Mandarin ducks, although the ducks do not nest in the trees, have perfectly adapted to the conditions where they live, and have learned how to jump from such a great height without any harm to themselves. Adult animals very quickly teach this art to chicks. To soften the fall, they use the wings and membranes on the paws.
Did you know? Nests prefer to twist each year in a new place. Despite the ingrained opinion of the mandarin as a symbol of loyalty, she selects a new partner for herself every year.
Peculiarities of duck feeding in the wild
The main components of the rationists - acorns and frogs, fish trifle, beetles, snails, worms. Due to the special ability of vertical ascent into the air, they do not have obstacles in the form of trees in oak groves. It should be noted that a duck mandarin duck and plant seeds are eating: in the summer it feeds on rice and buckwheat plantations, and likes to fly to winter fields.
How to breed mandarin ducks
In July, after molting, the males are almost the same as the females. They form large flocks and hide in the thickets, preferring not to show. When autumn comes, the male dresses in his magnificent outfit and is ready to attract a female, which will make him a couple next year.
In the mating season, the males demonstrate attractive dances on the water, care for females and aggressively fight with rivals. Duck, choosing a partner, keeps close to him. Together they choose a place for the nest, or rather, the female chooses, but the gentleman always accompanies it. As a rule, it is a hollow on a tree not far from the reservoir.
In April, the bird lays 9-12 eggs, one each day, and hatch them. Future father at this time brings her food.
Did you know? The younger the duck, the less eggs it will lay.On average, chicks hatch in a month, during cooling periods this can happen one or two days later. The chicks jump out of the nest after a few days, and the mother and the ducks go to their feeding places. Youth is considered an adult 40-45 days later, after learning how to fly on their own.
Important! Mandarin ducks are very thermophilic: if frost occurs, the offspring may not survive.
Peculiarities of keeping mandarin ducks at home
In captivity, ducks live in zoos, nurseries and even private farms. They are not too picky about food, normally tolerate the neighborhood of other birds and reproduce well, if they are provided with appropriate conditions.
For the healthy development of birds, all the conditions for their breeding are necessary, the main ones being a properly equipped room and the presence of a reservoir.For individuals in the household, it is necessary to create an environment as close as possible to the places where the mandarin duck lives: in the aviary where a pair of ducks are kept, it is recommended to have an artificial pond, columns or branches for sitting. At a temperature of 5 degrees or so, they are relocated to a warm aviary, the water in the pool is heated for the necessary daily bathing.
The nest box should be placed on a branch or on a wall, making sure to nest the place by a roost. The box should be 0.4 × 0.4 m, height - 0.5 m, tray - 0.12 × 0.12 m.
In the diet should provide:
- animal squirrels - bloodworm, daphnia, snails, frogs, small fish;
- greens - dandelion, plantain, duckweed, grated vegetables, bran;
- cereals - barley, wheat, corn, rice, buckwheat, can be in the form of cereals.
Properly balanced diet provides a healthy state of health and good appearance not only to ducks, but also to other representatives of domestic birds: goslings, chickens and quails.In autumn, as many as possible acorns should be stored, natural feeding of birds.
Females who grow up in captivity are rarely good chicks, this should be taken into account and kept in reserve for another chick: a tangerine that has grown free, it is desirable that it has its own young chicks, or another chick-breeding hen. Even a domestic chicken or duck with its own chicks can be a good foster mother for chicks if the biological mother is a frivolous special.
Important! In the extreme case, an incubator can be used, but this is not a very good option: the chicks are very shy, without a mother they can completely demoralize from panic and, eventually, weakened by throwing and jumping, die from starvation.
With a good mom, chicks in a day come out of the nest to the place of feeding. Feed them should earthworm, bloodworms, daphnia. When the chicks become independent, they can be released to the pond, river and other natural habitats. 
The most beautiful duck in the world multicolored exotic mandarin donals gives its owners the joy of admiring themselves all the time. People who have decided to start a mandarin in their household, despite the peculiarities of the content and the expensive price, in return receive an aesthetic pleasure from observing the habits of these exclusively decorative birds.
