Themes

I don't think they bring children,I don't think they bring luck,I don't know if they eat frogs... What we know for sure is that they live in Europe and some parts of Asia,unlike most wild animals they like the company of people and so they build their nests on roofs and posts.Every single year they fly away to Africa.Their comeback announces spring,their departure announces winter- long cold days with no sign of these long-legged,long-beaked beautiful animals on the fields.

Photos of mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata)

Their eyes look like they were about to cry.Their beaks seem too big for their tiny heads.When they fly,in order not to fall down,they have to move their wings so fast you can hardly notice any movement,and still they look like stones which will go down any moment.They are miniatures of penguins created not to ever leave the ground,but by some incomprehensible coincidence they can soar in the air.They are the symbol and an indispensable element of the cold,severe landscape of the North.