I was meaning the domestic form. I've seen them feral in a few places.
I know Mandarin is, I was thinking adding the silver and albino forms which are also appearing as escapes. Wasn't clear what I meant there.
Interesting/Little Known introduced populations
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I was meaning the domestic form. I've seen them feral in a few places.
I know Mandarin is, I was thinking adding the silver and albino forms which are also appearing as escapes. Wasn't clear what I meant there.
The 2014 Sibley guide says that there is a small feral population of Mandarin Ducks in Sonoma County, California. Given that forty of them were seen at the county late last year, that sounds right.
Hopefully they will be removed before they start crossing and competing with the Wood Ducks.
Hopefully they will be removed before they start crossing and competing with the Wood Ducks.
The problem removing Mandarin Ducks is the public generally likes them because of their bright colors. For example, the male that popped up in Central Park became an instant celebrity...
In the UK, a lot of people liked the Ruddy Duck, but it still got eradicated from there.
Also, aren't Mute Swans regularly 'controlled' in the US?
It might not be easy, but I'm sure that convincing most of the public that Mandarin Ducks don't belong in the wild in the US is possible.
Yes, there's been some solid effort in trying to control the Mute Swan population.
Yeah, might be difficult but it could probably be done.
The BTO Bird Atlas 2007-11 treats the Indian Peafowl, Reeves's Pheasant, and Carolina Wood Duck as being established introduced species in the UK, but none of those species have very many records from the UK on eBird (specifically, the Reeves's Pheasant has none).
Peafowl are starting to have mini-populations in a lot of places.
More of a curiosity question, why is Aix sponsa known as the Carolina Wood Duck outside the US? I always see them as Wood Duck here in the states, wherever I see the name. Most places don't have anything by the name of Wood Duck, so why the addition?
The Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata) is sometimes referred to as the Australian Wood Duck.
Ah, I think I may have heard that name for them once, but I've normally heard them called Maned Duck. Makes sense though to add the prefix then.
None? Reeve's Pheasant had one a few years ago.
Could you post a link to the record, please? It's not showing up on the species map or on the UK species list for All Years.
Mandarins can't produce hybrids because of a chromosome incompatibility with all other waterfowl, even the closely related Wood Duck.
Yes; I have heard of that before. Is there a peer-reviewed journal article that discusses the subject?
I can't find it now, but I remember seeing a checklist a few years ago that included a Reeve's Pheasant. No idea where it went...
I think that reports of escapees sometimes get removed from eBird. I remember seeing an escaped Ostrich in New Zealand get reported on eBird once; that report no longer exists, either.
Given their popularity in aviculture, the total lack of any reported hybrids between Wood Duck and Mandarin would suggest they cannot interbreed. In the UK at least, while Mandarin is well established Wood Duck does not seem to be able to produce self-sustaining populations in the wild. Incidentally, it appears that before the last glaciation some species of Aix was naturally present in Western Europe, as remains have been recovered in England. Whether they were closer to Mandarin or Wood Duck is not clear, but I would guess Mandarin
Pardon my ignorance, but this photograph is among the first results upon using the search term, 'mandarin wood duck hybrid', and in this old forum thread, someone claims that that is exactly what the photograph shows. Is it possible to tell me what the actual identity of the bird in the photograph is?
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Whoa. That certainly looks like a Mandarin x Wood Duck. I strongly suspect though that such a cross would not itself be fertile. More info here: Can Mandarin Ducks hybridize with other duck species?
I believe this is due to the slight seasonal difference in their breeding cycles- Wood Duck nests earlier apparently. Its only a marginal difference but enough to prevent successful colonisation in UK climate.
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My suggestion would be either an odd-coloured Mandarin drake or an old Mandarin female that has adopted male colouration or a hermaphrodite. I think the shape would be longer in a hybrid.