From mid-February to the end of March is a short period of time that visitors to Spring at the beginning of the year have the opportunity to watch mandarins when taking a boat trip to visit Ba Be lake. This is a rare migratory bird in the wild in Vietnam, mainly moving from the north (southeast of China) to large freshwater lakes in Vietnam to avoid winter.
The Mandarin Duck ( Aix Galericulata) is a medium-sized perching duck, closely related to the Carolina duck of North America. With adults, the length is about 41-49cm and the wingspan is 65-75cm.
In nature, mandarins breed in wooded areas near ponds, shallow lakes, swamps. They nest in hollows in trees, close to the surface of the water, distributed mainly in the lowlands of eastern China and southern Japan.
The male (also called uyen) has unmistakably colorful plumage, a red beak, a large white crescent-shaped streak above the eyes, and a red face and "mustache". The chest is purple with two longitudinal white stripes, the hips are reddish, with two clusters of feathers resembling two orange sails on the back.
The female (also called a nursery) has a white annular around the eye and a stripe running backwards from the eye, but fading, with small white stripes on the flanks and pale beak tips.
Characterized by its size and vibrant color, the mandarin bird is considered one of the most beautiful birds in the world today. This bird is considered a symbol of fidelity, deep fidelity. Because they live together in pairs for the rest of their lives, they sleep together, eat together, and rarely see separation (except at the time when the female incubates the eggs).
During this time, visitors to Ba Be Lake also have the opportunity to see the yellow-crowned duck (scientific name Anas penelope), a migratory bird rarer than mandarin in Vietnam.
Ba Be Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Vietnam with an area of 500ha, along with a primary forest of 10,000ha showing biodiversity, attracting many species of wild animals and birds to reside.
Source: Dan Tri