# Mandarin duck (*Aix galericulata*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandarin-duck  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The mandarin duck (Aix galericulata), also called the Mandarin, is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass from 512 to 628 g, a representative weight of 567 g and a wingspan of 71 cm. The mandarin duck is a migratory herbivore of forest habitat, with a geographic range of 1,905,000 km². It lays one clutch per year of 10.5 eggs, which are incubated for 29 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 512 g – 628 g |
| Length | 41 cm – 49 cm |
| Wingspan | 71 cm |
| Lifespan | 9 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 10 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 29 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 10.5 |
| Age at maturity | 11.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Aix
- species: *Aix galericulata* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Aix galericulata brunnescens*, *Anas galeiculata*, *Anas galericulata*, *Dendronessa galericulata*

## Common questions

### How heavy is a mandarin duck?

An adult Mandarin duck weighs from 512 to 628 g, with a representative value of 567 g. Its wingspan is 71 cm.

### What does the mandarin duck eat?

The mandarin duck is a herbivore.

### What habitat does the mandarin duck live in?

The mandarin duck lives in forest habitat. It is a migratory bird with a geographic range of 1,905,000 km².

### Is the mandarin duck endangered?

No. The mandarin duck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a mandarin duck live?

The mandarin duck has a lifespan of 9 years, with values up to 10 years reported.

### How many eggs does a mandarin duck lay?

The mandarin duck lays 10.5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 29 days.

### What kind of animal is the mandarin duck?

The mandarin duck is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes.

### Who named the mandarin duck?

The mandarin duck, Aix galericulata, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandarin-duck