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, there you can get acquainted with the information, 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. Mandarins - these are representatives of 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
- Features of the life cycle
- Where does the mandarin duck live
- Features of nutrition ducks in the wild
- How do mandarin ducks breed
- Peculiarities of keeping mandarin ducks at home
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 dress of white, green, purple, orange, brown, red, which can fancifully flow into one another.On the head and neck, the drakes acquire sideburns 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, let down 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.
Features of the life cycle
The mandarin duck lives near the river, lives in small flocks, when the breeding season is over, can join the herd of other ducks. He likes to get food early in the morning and at sunset, during the daytime he prefers to lurk, resting in the 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: such bright plumage cannot be confused with anything. When the male sheds the plumage, he becomes indistinguishable from the female, and the hunters may confuse him with other ducks.
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 to jump from such a great height without any harm to themselves. Adult animals very quickly teach this art to chicks. To mitigate the fall, they use the wings and membranes on the paws.
Features of nutrition ducks 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 do mandarin ducks breed
In July, after molting, the males are almost not different from females. They form large flocks and hide in the thickets, preferring not to show. When autumn comes, the male puts on 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. The future father at this time brings her food.
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 provided with appropriate conditions.
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.
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 with an offspring.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.
With a good mom, chicks in a day come out of the nest to the place of feeding. Feed them should be an earthworm, bloodworm, 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 multicolor exotic mandarin donals gives its owners the joy of admiring themselves all the time. People who 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.
