Two Beautiful Little Fairies Appear at Changchun Tongxin Lake – Mandarin Ducks

April 2nd, 3rd, photographer Zhang Yunshan shot the Mandarin Duck at Longchang City's Tongxin Lake.

Tongxin Lake is located on the north side of Zili West Street in the Green Park District of Longchang City, surrounded by neighborhoods such as Lan Duo Qing Ying, Tian Yi Ji Yuan 1953 and Green Park Shanghai City. The existence of Mandarin Ducks like this bird in such an environment indicates that we have increased the green living space for birds,

Mandarin Ducks are typical waterfowl, with an approximate body length of 26-74 cm. Male and female birds are similar, with a body that is soft and fluffy like silk, with a crown-like crest on the head, a beak that is straight and thin and laterally compressed, with a sharp end, and the nostrils are open, located at the base of the beak, with red eyes, a relatively slender neck, and short wings.

The courtship behavior of Mandarin Ducks is very special and very comical. Both sides perform a show, then stare at each other, then dive into the water together and resurface, looking at each other and shaking their heads, and each gives the other a small clump of water grass as a gift.

Mandarin Ducks inhabit lakes, ponds, canals, pools and marshes, also found in slow-flowing rivers and coastal reed swamps. They are migratory birds, living in freshwater lakes with cattails and reeds during the breeding season. They mainly inhabit open water areas in low-altitude lakes and forests-surrounded rivers, and river estuaries. During the breeding season, they linger in large lakes and surrounding areas with dense vegetation.

Mandarin Ducks are adept at diving to hunt for food, they can dive for long periods of time, and use their sharp beaks, nostrils and eyes to observe the movement and stillness in the water. When threatened, they quickly escape underwater. They practically live their entire lives in the water, often gathering in flocks. They are not good at flying. When swimming, they use their feet instead of their wings, and rarely walk on the ground.

They are often in groups of three or five or more small groups. They are good at swimming and diving, but also able to walk on land, but their movements are slow and clumsy. Their flight power is weak, when taking off from the water surface, they need to wade a distance in the water to take off, and they cannot take off on land. Their flight distance is short and they don't fly high. When flying, their heads and necks are extended forward, their feet are dragged behind their tails, and their wings beat quickly. They are active, diving and resting frequently underwater, and when resting, they often float motionless on the surface, and when encountering people, they swim into the water grass or hide underwater, and occasionally surface nearby.

They are generally diurnal and forage for food. Their hunting method is to dive and chase. Their food mainly consists of aquatic insects and larvae, shrimp, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish and grasses.

Produced by the Jilin Daily Newspaper

Planned by: Jiang Zhongxiao

Photography: Zhang Yunshan

Editing: Yu Yue