MANDARIN DUCK 



AIX GALERICULATA (Linne) 1 

 (Plate 50) 



Synonymy 

 Anas galericulata Linne, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 128, 1758. 

 Aix galericulata Boie, Oken's Isis, 1828, p. 329. 

 Cosmonessa galericulata Kaup, Oken's Isis, 1829 (fide Gould). 

 Lampronessa galericulata Wagler, Oken's Isis, 1832, p. 282. 

 Dendronessa galericulata Swainson, Animals in Menageries, p. 233, 1837. 

 Aia galericulata Eyton, Monograph Anatidse, p. 119, 1838. 

 Anas asitori Temminck (ubif), fide G. It. Gray, List Birds British Mus., vol. 3, 



p. 133, 1844. 

 Aex galericidata P. L. Sclater, List Vertebrate Animals, ed. 8, p. 438, 1889. 

 Aix galericulata brunnescens Clark, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 27, p. 87, 1914. 



Vebnaculae Names 

 English: Mandarin Duck, Chinese Duck or Teal. 

 French: Canard Mandarin, Sarcelle de Chine. 

 German: Mandarinen Ente. 

 Swedish: Praktgas. 

 Chinese: Yuen-yang, Een-yeong, Lung-tow-ya, Hi-so (Purple Mandarin, also 



"Faithful Bird" and "Yellow Duck"). 

 Japanese: Oshidori, Kimnodsui. 

 Natives on the Amur: Ngoiro, Waire. 



DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male: Forehead glossy green, changing into purple on the crown; long occipital crest coppery 

 red, changing into dark purple and green below; sides of head buff, anteriorly changing into white 

 around the eyes, whence the white extends on to the sides of the head and the crest; lower part of 

 crest dark metallic green; chin and throat cinnamon; sides of neck with long pointed feathers of a 

 chestnut color, striped with whitish along the middle; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and lesser 

 wing-coverts hoary brown with a dull bronzy gloss; lower neck on front and on sides glossy chestnut, 

 bounded on the sides with five crescentic bands, three black and two white; sides, breast, abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts white; sides and flanks pale brown, vermiculated with black, the longer 

 feathers with white and black crescentic bands at the tip; lower flanks tinged with glossy chestnut; 

 scapulars bronzy grayish green, glossed with blue, the outer ones white, broadly edged with velvety 

 black on the outer web; primaries gray on the outer web, tipped with green on the inner web; sec- 

 ondaries glossy bluish green, tipped with a white band; inner tertial with shaft much bent down- 

 ward, giving to the outer web a falcate form; the inner web excessively widened into a very broad 

 1 As these pages go to press, Miller (1925) advocates Dendronessa as the correct generic name for this duck. 



