Flying Mandarin

I love these marvelous little creatures, found a group of them along the river Po towards the ponte Sassi navigating on the water under the snow.

 

 

Mandarin

The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized, East Asian perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. It is 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan.

This is the first time I have seen these beautiful, marvelous creatures along the river Po, they look like toys!

The sky was grayish and cloudy, I was hesitated whether or not to visit the river, and I am glad I made this walk....
Some distance further up from the bridge at piazza Vittorio, there were this group of four navigating their way on the river, I followed them till they reached home, the shrubs along the river bank, neighbor with a group of mallards.

鸳鸯, is their chinese name, which is the symbol of loving couples, those who are longing for love often say : 只羡鸳鸯， 不羡仙 (Only envy the mandarin duck, do not envy the gods).

Strange enough, instead of sticking in a couple, I saw this group of 3 males and one female swimming together towards home....