If a Committee Designed a Duck

Every time I see a male Mandarin duck I imagine it being dreamt up by a committee of bewhiskered Victorian gentlemen, all of whom had to have an input.

In fact they were imported from Asia during the 18th century for the landed gentry to show off. They began to breed in the wild when some escaped in Chobham in Surrey. They have gradually spread around the country and there is a healthy population near me at Adel Dam near Leeds.

They males are stunning to look at with an array of features and colours in comparison to the rather dowdy grey female. However in summer the males lose their gaudy appearance and appear very similar to the females.