Male mandarin duck spotted chilling by itself in Hougang canal

Having a quacking good time.

Syahindah Ishak | June 12, 2021, 01:34 PM

A mandarin duck was recently spotted in a canal in Hougang.

Videos of the duck were shared on Facebook on June 12.

One of the videos showed the duck waddling about in the canal as photographers stood nearby, capturing it in action.

Another video showed the duck floating smoothly along the canal water, appearing to be in complete serenity and contentment.

Male mandarin duck

Judging by the outer appearance, the above mandarin duck is a male.

A male mandarin duck has a red beak, and a large white crescent above the eye.

Its breast is purple and there are two orange large feathers sticking up near its back.

The female mandarin duck, on the other hand, has a white eye-ring and stripe running from the back of its eye.

It is also paler as compared to its male counterpart.

A male mandarin duck (left) and a female mandarin duck (right). Image via Wikipedia.

Not native to Singapore

The mandarin duck is not native to Singapore.

In August 2008, a female mandarin duck was spotted near Botanic Gardens, as reported by a bird ecology study group.

The study group cited bird specialist R Subaraj, who said that at least two pairs of mandarin ducks were released into Botanic Gardens a few years before.

Top image screenshots via Weixiang Schrödinger Lim/FB.