Mandarin Duck
Aix galericulata

f10 @ 1/800s, ISO:1600, Nikon D300S w 300mm and 1.4X tele-extender

\"Mandarin Duck.\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The female is similar to female Wood Duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill. Specimens frequently escape from collections, and in the 20th century a large feral population was established in Great Britain; more recently small numbers have bred in Ireland, concentrated in the parks of Dublin. There are now about 7000 in Britain, and other populations on the European continent, the largest in the region of Berlin.Isolated populations exist in the United States. The town of Black Mountain, North Carolina has a limited population,and there is a free-flying feral population of several hundred mandarins in Sonoma County, California. This population is the result of several mandarin ducks escaping from captivity, then going on to reproduce in the wild.

Tokyo, Japan

02/15/2012