This lesson is going swimmingly

This duck convoy is an adventure in early education too. After a month of hatching time, the mother urges the chicks to leap from their nests high up in trees (don't worry, leaves and grass protect them from the fall) and head for the water. This duck is clearly a female, as she lacks the brightly colored, showy plumage of the male—and she does have a distinctive white circle around her eye. Don't be surprised if it's usually a female leading the family swim—the moms are left to raise up to a dozen chicks while the dads go off to molt. While this division of the sexes may sound unfair, it's important to note that mandarin ducks are monogamous and mate for life.
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