Mandarin Duck

The breeding male's ornate plumage — orange, green, white, and purple, set off by upright orange 'sail' feathers on the back — makes the Mandarin Duck one of the most elaborately marked of all waterfowl; females are grey-brown with a white eye-ring and stripe. Unlike most ducks, it regularly perches in trees and nests in tree cavities, occupying wooded lakes, rivers, and ponds bordered by dense forest. Its diet includes seeds, acorns, grains, aquatic plants, insects, snails, and small fish, gathered by dabbling, walking, and perching. Clutches of seven to fourteen eggs are incubated for 28 to 33 days, with young fledging at 40 to 45 days. Generally quiet and secretive, it gives only soft whistles and low quacks. Native to East Asia, feral populations are now established in Britain and western Europe. It is listed as Least Concern.