MANDARIN DUCKS

Mandarin ducks are strikingly beautiful. The species was once widespread in eastern Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of its forest habitat have reduced populations in eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country;Japan, however, is thought to still hold some 5,000 pairs. Mandarin Ducks breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, marshes or ponds. They