With a long crest, a black, brown-red head, and a "beautiful dress" with cloud patterns, this is the Chinese merganser duck, known as the "giant panda among birds". This "distinguished guest" has visited Jinjiang many times, which is also the ecological benefit brought about by the improvement of the water ecological environment in Chengdu in recent years. Perhaps during the 2024 Chengdu World Horticultural Expo, the Chinese merganser duck will also come to Chengdu to "join in the fun"!
The Chinese merganser duck is a bird of the genus Mergansers of the family Duckidae of the order Gooseformes, and there is no subspecific differentiation. The crest is long and distinct, in a double crest, and the beak is long, narrow, and red. Dioecious, male head, upper back and shoulder feathers black, lower back, waist and tail overlying feathers white, wing mirror white, **white, both flanks with black scaly lines; The female has a tan head and neck and a crest. The throat is pale brown, the upper body is grayish-brown, and the thorax is white mixed with brown scales. Because there are fish scale spots on both sides of the body, the head has a double crown of feathers, which is called the scaly rib merganser duck, and because of the hard feathers on the top of the head, the crown is like the flower feather on the head of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
The Chinese merganser is an ancient species left over from the end of the Tertiary glaciationIt has been more than 10 million years ago and is a rare bird unique to our countryIt is a rare species listed in the "Red Book of Endangered Animals of China: Birds", and belongs to the national first-class key protected animals.
The Chinese merganser duck has a serious "cleanliness habit", is extremely picky about the living environment, especially the water quality, and likes to live in the open, clean, clear water quality of mountain rivers and reservoirs. Therefore, they are the "indicator species" that directly reflect the quality of the water environment, known as the "ecological environment vane" and "the ecological test paper of the water ecological environment".
Chengdu World Horticultural Fair
Chengdu**Jinguan News Reporter Wei Jieyi**Chengdu Water Weibo user @Que Shi Cute Crow Responsible Editor He Qitie.