Mandarin Duck

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In news: The rare, most beautiful Mandarin Duck has been spotted at Maguri beel in Assam recently

About Mandarin Duck

• The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. 
• It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix.
• Aix is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and galericulata is the Latin for a wig, derived from galerum, a cap or bonnet
• Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. 
• The eBird website, a platform that documents birds world over, describes it as a “small-exotic looking bird” native to East Asia
• As per this website, the male Mandarin Duck is described as “very ornate with big orangey ‘sail fins’ on the back, streaked orangey cheeks, and a small red bill with a whitish tip” and the female with “narrow white spectacles on a shaggy grey head, bold pale dappled spots along flanks, and pale bill tip.”
• This bird breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China.  It now has established populations in Western Europe and America too.
• IUCN status:  Least Concern

Why is its recent visit to Assam important?

• Though it visits India but it does not fall in its usual migratory route. There are only a handful of recorded sightings here 
• It was recorded in 1902 in Dibru river in the Rongagora area in Tinsukia
• More recently, it was sighted in Manipur’s Loktak Lake in 2013, and in Saatvoini Beel in Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam’s Baksa district 2014
• While the duck is not a globally threatened species, spotting one is always considered significant because they only make “rare appearances

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