The Mandarin Duck
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It came as a great relief when I arrived at page 60 of this monograph to find that, had I been birding 600,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene period, I could well have seen native Mandarin Ducks along the Norfolk coast – as a self-confessed ‘duckophile’, I had been initially a little hesitant at the idea of reviewing a tome on an introduced non-native species.
Another surprise in this latest Poyser monograph was discovering that the British population is not, as often maintained, more numerous than in the species’ native range in East Asia. However, as the author points out, the massive pressure on its natural habitats could mean that British Mandarins act as an important safeguard in the future should the species continue to decline elsewhere.
The first part of the book covers Mandarin Duck’s East Asian distribution, listing in detail varying populations throughout its main range in China, Japan and Russia. Smaller populations are described in Taiwan, Burma and India.
There is a fascinating, if somewhat depressing, chapter on the conservation of Mandarin Duck and other wetland species in the Far East. The threats to its long-term survival make for dismal reading, naming hunting (despite being protected by law in all three countries), predation by Racoon Dog and American Mink and loss of habitat as the main causes. The species is not helped by the fact that more than one billion people live in its original stronghold along the lower reaches of the Yangtse River.
The bulk of the book relates to the current British population, the sources of the first birds introduced to wildfowl collections, their gradual spread and status in each occupied county. The book is well illustrated by a series of excellent photographs and beautiful paintings by Katrina van Grouw. However, I would have liked to see some examples of Oriental art, where pairs of Mandarins were often depicted as symbols of marital loyalty. The species’ Chinese name is Yuan Yang, signifying male and female, and it was by far the commonest duck in Chinese art.
Overall, this is a fascinating read. Christopher Lever has delved into every imaginable facet of this beautiful duck, and the monograph will remain the most comprehensive account of its distribution, life cycle and biology for decades to come.
Another surprise in this latest Poyser monograph was discovering that the British population is not, as often maintained, more numerous than in the species’ native range in East Asia. However, as the author points out, the massive pressure on its natural habitats could mean that British Mandarins act as an important safeguard in the future should the species continue to decline elsewhere.
The first part of the book covers Mandarin Duck’s East Asian distribution, listing in detail varying populations throughout its main range in China, Japan and Russia. Smaller populations are described in Taiwan, Burma and India.
There is a fascinating, if somewhat depressing, chapter on the conservation of Mandarin Duck and other wetland species in the Far East. The threats to its long-term survival make for dismal reading, naming hunting (despite being protected by law in all three countries), predation by Racoon Dog and American Mink and loss of habitat as the main causes. The species is not helped by the fact that more than one billion people live in its original stronghold along the lower reaches of the Yangtse River.
The bulk of the book relates to the current British population, the sources of the first birds introduced to wildfowl collections, their gradual spread and status in each occupied county. The book is well illustrated by a series of excellent photographs and beautiful paintings by Katrina van Grouw. However, I would have liked to see some examples of Oriental art, where pairs of Mandarins were often depicted as symbols of marital loyalty. The species’ Chinese name is Yuan Yang, signifying male and female, and it was by far the commonest duck in Chinese art.
Overall, this is a fascinating read. Christopher Lever has delved into every imaginable facet of this beautiful duck, and the monograph will remain the most comprehensive account of its distribution, life cycle and biology for decades to come.
- The Mandarin Duck by Christopher Lever (T & A D Poyser, London, 2012).
- 256 pages, numerous colour photographs and illustrations.
- ISBN 9781408149638. Hbk, £50. Birdwatch Bookshop from £45.
