page_title: Mandarin duck
section_title: Food and feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Mandarin duck / Behaviour / Food and feeding
caption_attribution_description: Aix galericulata English: A male Mandarin Duck flying at Bushy Park, Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. It has just taken off from the pond.
context_page_description: The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. Aix is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and galericulata is the Latin for a wig, derived from galerum, a cap or bonnet.
context_section_description: Mandarins feed by dabbling or walking on land. They mainly eat plants and seeds, especially beech mast. The species will also add snails, insects and small fish to its diet. The diet of mandarin ducks changes seasonally; in the fall and winter, they mostly eat acorns and grains. In the spring, they mostly eat insects, snails, fish and aquatic plants. In the summer, they eat dew worms, small fish, frogs, mollusks, and small snakes. They feed mainly near dawn or dusk, perching in trees or on the ground during the day.
caption: Male flying in Dublin, Ireland
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