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Mandarin Duck
Aix galericulata
The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) occurs across parts of Asia, but it is a popular species in some waterfowl collections within the United States. The shots on this page show a beautiful male Mandarin Duck which spent a month or more hanging out with its close relatives, the Wood Duck, along Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Travis Co., Texas, from December, 2009 into February, 2010. The bird was a strong flier and was in immaculate plumage. I have no idea of the origin of this bird. The species was once widespread in eastern Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of its forest habitat have reduced populations in eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country; Japan, however, is thought to still hold some 5,000 pairs.