Two mandarin ducks are drawing attention in Húsavík park

Two mandarin ducks are residing in the park at Húsavík, North Iceland. This species is not native to Iceland and rarely seen here. Suddenly the park where the couple resides has become very popular among bird enthusiasts.

Stray birds from Europe

Mandarin ducks are native to East Asia. In the past many aristocrats in Europe bought them to decorate their flower gardens. According to Yann Kolbeinsson of Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre, the European population of wild mandarin ducks is made up of descendants of ducks that escaped from such gardens.

“There are stray ducks that come to Iceland every now and again from the European stock. Or ducks that belong to someone, like these two in Húsavík,” says Kolbeinsson. The duck couple is marked, the Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre has not contacted the owners.

Kolbeinsson says most birds that come to Iceland are male, to his knowledge only one female has come before. “The mandarin ducks come in spring and usually only stop for a few days, but every now and again they stay all summer long.”

Striking colours

The male mandarin ducks is easy to spot as it’s more colourful than any bird native to Iceland. Already a number of bird enthusiasts have made their way to Húsavík to take pictures of the couple.

The adult male has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back.

The female is similar to female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill.