Mandarin duck BW - Leif Sohlman

B/W photo of mandarin duck in Enkoeping Sweden 2014.... more

by Leif Sohlman

Title

Mandarin duck BW - Leif Sohlman

Artist

Leif Sohlman

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

B/W photo of mandarin duck in Enkoeping Sweden 2014.
Canon 5D mk III
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.[4]

Specimens frequently escape from collections, and in the 20th century a large feral population was established in Great Britain; more recently small numbers have bred in Ireland, concentrated in the parks of Dublin. There are now about 7,000 in Britain, and other populations on the European continent, the largest in the region of Berlin.[5]

Isolated populations exist in the United States. The town of Black Mountain, North Carolina has a limited population,[6] and there is a free-flying feral population of several hundred mandarins in Sonoma County, California. This population is the result of several mandarin ducks escaping from captivity, then going on to reproduce in the wild
Mandarin Ducks are referred to by the Chinese as Yuan-yang (simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯; traditional Chinese: 鴛鴦; pinyin: yuān yāng), where yuan (鴛) and yang (鴦) respectively stand for male and female Mandarin Ducks.

In traditional Chinese culture, Mandarin Ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art.

A Chinese proverb for loving couples uses the Mandarin Duck as a metaphor: "Two mandarin ducks playing in water" (simplified Chinese: 鸳鸯戏水; traditional Chinese: 鴛鴦戲水; pinyin: yuān yāng x� shuǐ). The Mandarin Duck symbol is also used in Chinese weddings because in traditional Chinese lore, they symbolize wedded bliss and fidelity.

Because the male and female plumages of the Mandarin Duck are so unalike, yuan-yang is frequently used colloquially in Cantonese to mean an "odd couple" or "unlikely pair" � a mixture of two different types of same category. For example, the drink yuanyang and yuan-yang fried rice.
Main article: Wedding ducks

For Koreans, Mandarin ducks represent peace, fidelity, and plentiful offspring. Similar to the Chinese, they believe that these ducks mate for life. For these reasons, pairs of Mandarin ducks called wedding ducks are often given as wedding gifts and play a significant role in Korean marriage

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December 26th, 2013