MANDARIN DUCK 79 



ried out only when numbers of the birds are together and need not have any real 

 connection with actual mating. 



Heinroth thus ably describes the play antics, which are so beautiful and so at- 

 tractive that I must of necessity sacrifice the space here. " We then see the males 

 with heads laid far back, the splendid crest somewhat ruffled, so that it sometimes 

 touches the highly erected, rusty-yellow, gleaming fan-feathers, which stand par- 

 allel to each other — at the same time the beautiful primaries bordered with silvery 

 white do not lie closely together as is usually the case in the closed wing, but rather 

 spread out, covering the base of the tail on each side with eight silvery -white bands. 

 In this position the birds appear peculiarly short, and to use the horseman's expres- 

 sion, they look 'gathered up,' moving their heads quickly, while uttering the before- 

 mentioned uib, the head nodding in a jerky manner, and the birds pointing their 

 heads around suddenly over their backs, with their bills toward the inner web of one 

 of the ruffled fan-feathers; at which time the short whistle is heard. When the males 

 approach too near they rush at one another, a thing which rarely results in a fight. 

 . . . When one observes such a Mandarin group from afar he might be inclined to 

 believe that the birds were one and all of them crazy; for their continual boasting, 

 shooting to and fro, and utterances appear to us quite useless and senseless." 



The courtship in a general way is the same as with the Carolina Duck, and in 

 captive or semi-wild birds, at least, the males show polygamous tendencies. The ac- 

 tual display, however, is different. Wormald describes the male in display as slowly 

 lowering the head as though drinking, so that the tip of the bill just enters the water, 

 when the head is jerked back quickly. The crest is raised and the chest puffed out so 

 that the appearance is very different from that of the male Carolina Duck in display. 



Probably in the wild state both sexes are entirely monogamous. So much at least 

 would seem to be indicated by the old Chinese tradition as to their conjugal fidelity. 

 Various of the older ornithologists have repeated stories about the Mandarin in 

 Chinese belief and custom, and in order to verify these statements I consulted the 

 Chinese Imperial Encyclopedia and other works. The Mandarin is, it appears, 

 rightly regarded in China as a symbol of fidelity, but is not carried in bridal proces- 

 sions as has been stated more than once. The Wild Goose, symbolizing self-restraint 

 (chastity), is used for a gift to the bride's father; never the Mandarin (Chinese 

 Classics, Book of Li-Ki, Chapter 41). Nevertheless Mr. Kuroda writes me that in 

 Japan it is even at the present time given as a marriage gift. In the Chinese Im- 

 perial Encyclopedia, Division of Natural History, Birds, volume 47 (published 

 about 200 years ago) are the following references. 



"The male and female sleep together [side by side] the inside wings being folded 

 over each other." 



"The male and female are never separated; if one is captured the other dies, so it 

 is sometimes called the 'couple' bird [meaning faithful]." 



