[NatureNS] Mystery Duck Revisited - Perhaps not a Female Mandarin.

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Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 14:04:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Clarence Stevens <birder_ca@yahoo.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
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Hi Bernard, -great new photos. 
Hi All, After looking at Bernard's new photos I am wondering about my original
identification.  The bird is indeed a Mandarin Duck but it may not be a female.

Plumage wise it looks like a female but its bill is entirely pink suggesting to
me that it might actually be an immature male.
 
My only concern is what I read on the web, and I quote " Mandarin ducklings
apparently do not have a basic I plumage, molting from the juvenal directly to
the alternate plumage. Green feathers begin to appear on the head and mane of
the males and black stripes on the chest at 10-12 weeks. " 

This particular bird is not showing any green in its head at all, in fact the
head is entirely gray.  It also lacks any black stripes on its chest.  

I also noticed that female Mandarins can vary greatly as to the amount of pink
that appear on their bills, ranging from individuals that appear in photos at
least to have entirely dark bills to apparent females with bills that are
dominated by pink. 

So could this bird be a female with a bill that is slightly brighter than
normal ? 

Another option is that the Mandarin might be a male that is under ten to twelve
weeks, thus lacking the green on the head and the black stripes on the chest. 
If so at what age are Mandarins fully grown, size wise ? 

Another source of information suggested that young males may not show plumage
changes until they are more than 6 to 8 months old. 

So my best guess is that it is an immature male that has yet to show other
identifiable plumage markings, but any other opinions even to the contrary
would be most welcomed as I am just looking to figure this bird out, one way or
another.  - cheers, Clarence 

PS Thanks to Jean for alerting us to this bird, Anita for having the initiative
to go check things out and to Bernard for his most recent photographs.

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