A rare duck created a flutter in Upper Assam

Floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) in Assam’s Tinsukia district for over a week is the spectacular and rare Mandarin duck.

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First spotted on February 8 by Madhab Gogoi, a Tinsukia-based birder and tour guide, the duck has since become the star of the wetland — an area affected by a blowout and fire at a natural gas well located close by in May 2020.

Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

It is a “small-exotic looking bird” native to East Asia.

The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and north-eastern parts of China, explained Gogoi. It now has established populations in Western Europe and America too.

The duck, however, rarely visits India as it does not fall in its usual migratory route. Its IUCN Status is Least Concern.

While the duck is not a globally threatened species, spotting one is always considered significant because they only make “rare appearances.”