Many bird species show sexual dimorphism, meaning that males and females look different. But the Mandarin Duck has an extreme case of dimorphism. The female is a sensible, unobtrusive little brown bird, and the male looks like a circus performer. I love bird descriptions (they are their own kind of poetry), and here's the description from eBird.com: "Male very ornate with big orangey "sail fins" on the back, streaked orangey cheeks, and a small red bill with a whitish tip. Female has narrow white spectacles on shaggy gray head, bold pale dappled spots along flanks, and pale bill tip."
Mr. Mandarin's a dandy,
colorful, dramatic.
Mrs. Mandarin's more quiet,
quite anti-climactic.
He leaves before the ducklings hatch,
while she's the perfect mother;
just what made these lovely birds
so different from each other?
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
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