Mandarin

The Mandarin, with its display of contrasts and colours, is a spectacle of British birds. It is plump and its head is large, though its bill is small. For most of the year the male has his colours displayed in tufts and plumes; an orange, white, greenish and brown mane, a green and purple crest, orange plumes rising from his cheeks, and orange feathers reminiscent of boat sails on his back. He has a purple breast, orange-brownish flanks and a dark back. Some details in his pattern include a thick, pale section from eye to nape, a white ring around his eye, vertical stripes down his dark breast and a bright red bill with a pale tip. The female is distinctive too, though she does not have the same elaborateness. She has a white eye ring and stripe which is compared to a pair of glasses; she's grey-brown with spotted flanks. Her bill is small and dull pink with a pale tip, and she's white around the bill and throat. In flight, the Mandarin has dark wings with a white edge and the pale belly is visible. The juvenile bird is like the adult female, though its markings are less distinct.