Sun Chuanzhe (Chinese, B. 1915) "Mandarin Duck" Stamped middle left and right. Original Watercolor painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. The brightly colored Mandarin Duck of East Asia is a species of unusual beauty -- and even more unusual behavior. Making its home in deciduous forests near ponds and waterways, this "perching" duck spends more time alone in the trees than among its flock. The male, prone to shyness, generally keeps his comments to himself except for an occasional nasal note. In his nuptial plumage, he is a boisterous sight to behold -- complete with iridescent speculum patterns, orange "whiskers," and a pair of very large, orange "sail" feathers that sometimes stand erect along his back. The female, dressed in a sensible mottled gray-brown color, makes her nest in a towering, solitary tree-hole -- often as high as forty-five feet off the ground. There she deposits -- into a mixture of wood bits and white down -- nine to twelve glossy, buff-colored eggs. When the ducklings emerge from this airborne roost, they jump to the ground almost immediately and learn to fly in six weeks. Mandarins cling to their lofty perches with long, muscular claws. They are not an especially gregarious species, but -- among themselves they do engage in the curious and fastidious practice of "social preening." Interestingly, Mandarins are frequently kept and raised in captivity, where they usually do well. In their native eastern Asian wilds, however, their population has lost numbers due to widespread destruction of the forests. Image Size: 13.25 x 13.25 in. Overall Size: 15 x 15 in. Unframed. (B08650)