76 A IX GALERICULATA 



proper we have the statement of Sowerby (1912) who says it is one of the more uncommon birds in 

 the region south of the Ordos, that is, in Shensi and Kansu. R. Swinhoe (1863a) notes that it is said to 

 breed in Amurland, and Styan (1891) found it fairly common at Kahing, though rare at Kiu-kiang. 

 In general it seems to be a local bird wherever found in China. La Touche (1907) found it rather rare 

 at Kiu-kiang in the Yangtse basin in winter, and R. Swinhoe (1863a) found it at Ningpo on the 

 coast in that season. Richthofen (1907) says it is common in autumn in the provinces of An-hwei (on 

 the lower Yangtse), Che-kiang (on the coast) and Kiangsi (in the interior). In 1892 La Touche 

 stated that it occurred only occasionally at Fuchow though it was said to be plentiful in the interior 

 near Yenping-fu. In 1900 he records it as common in northwestern Fukien, especially in the Kien- 

 ning region. In a still later contribution La Touche and Rickett (1905) speak of it as a common resi- 

 dent of Fukien. 



How far west one might expect to meet with the Mandarin it is difficult to say. Ogilvie-Grant 

 (1900) records a specimen from "western China" which means very little. I am inclined to fix the 

 T ,. western limit of its occurrence at about 110° east longitude. At any rate its recent oc- 



currence in the Burmese country is very exceptional. Baker (1908) has recorded a 

 specimen taken from a flock of six on the Dibru River, Assam, and he is inclined to believe the testi- 

 mony given by other observers as to the species having appeared on several occasions in India. 



The two recorded occurrences of the Mandarin in Europe, on the basis of which the species is 

 •p included in Naumann's great work, were, as the authors state, almost without doubt 



escaped specimens. One, an old male, was taken in the end of May, 1881, at Staburna, 

 Lapland, and the other on January 4, 1901, near Leipzig. 



GENERAL HABITS 



The Mandarin is far better known in captivity than in the wild state, and compara- 

 tively little has been written about this bird, excepting by aviculturalists. Like the 

 Carolina Duck in its habits, this is a fresh-water species, preferring rivers and lakes. 

 Domes (1888) in the region north of Vladivostok found it along river shores where 

 reeds and rushes offer protection, and it followed small forest streams almost up to 

 their sources, while von Schrenck (1859) speaks of it as the commonest duck on the 

 streams tributary to the middle Amur. In the southerly Japanese islands it is very 

 common on the small streams (Blakiston and Pryer, 1878). It appears, however, to 

 be equally fond of lakes in the interior (Whitely, 1867; Jouy, 1883; David and Ousta- 

 let, 1877). Parrot (1899) speaks of its having been found by his friend Nicolaysen in 

 the oak forests near Vladivostok, and it seems to frequent paddy-fields also (Jouy, 

 1883). In south-central China Richthofen (1907) found that these birds preferred 

 clear, quiet waters at the foot of steep precipices, and that when wounded they flew 

 into the woods and hid themselves. 



Wariness. Thunberg, an early traveler, found the Mandarin extremely abun- 

 dant and remarkably tame on the coasts of Japan; so much so, in fact, that the birds 

 were not even alarmed by the noise of his gun. It is not likely that at the present 

 time it remains anywhere unpersecuted ; for as early as 1859 von Schrenck found the 

 birds quite shy and hard to approach, even in the rather deserted regions of the lower 

 Amur. 



