Everything you ever wanted to know about the Mandarin Duck, one of the largest and best-studied is in southern England. The Mandarin Duck is a small and (in the case of the males) spectacularly colourful species of waterfowl. Widely kept in aviaries around the world, populations often escaped to form wild colonies. Although declining and nowadays surprisingly hard to find, Britain's wild Mandarin population is probably more numerous than that of the duck's true home, China and the Russian Far East, where it is now endangered. This Poyser monograph is a detailed account of this beautiful duck's lifestyle and biology, with particular emphasis on invasive populations in Britain and overseas. It is a superb addition to the long-running and acclaimed Poyser series.

Christopher Lever is an expert on the world's invasive vertebrate animals. His books include Naturalized Mammals of the World (Longman), Naturalised Birds of the World (Poyser) and Naturalized Fishes of the World (Academic Press) and a second Poyser monograph, The Mandarin Duck.

List of Tables
List of Maps
Preface
Introduction

1 Native Range in the Far East
2 Conservation in the Far East
3 The Mandarin Duck in Oriental legend, literature and art
4 Introduction to England
5 Spread, distribution and status within Britain and Northern Ireland
6 Introduced populations and breeding records in the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement Area
7 Mandarin Ducks in the United States
8 Non-breeding records in the African-Eurasian Waterbird agreement area and failed introductions elsewhere
9 Annual life cycle: courtship; breeding biology, moulting
10 Food and foraging

Plate Section

Appendices:
I Classification
II Taxonomy
III Description
IV Status
V Nest-boxes
VI Trapping and ringing
VII The Wood Duck

Acknowledgements
Glossary
Bibliography
Photo credits