Living monument—Mandarin duck in Uiju
June 17, 2026A mandarin duck is a migratory bird belonging to the wild goose-duck family.
It is 45cm long and weighs 500g.
A female lays six to thirteen light yellow eggs and sits on them to hatch for 28 to 30 days.
The birds usually move in a group of four or five pairs. It is said that once they mate, the birds remain a couple all their lives.
In the DPRK, a happy couple is likened to a couple of mandarin ducks.
The habitat of the birds is on Sugu Islet which was formed when the course of the Amnok River branched off.
The slope of the islet consists of cliffs. Below them, grass and arrowroot vines grow entangled and several kinds of trees and other plants, including pine, oak and poplar, form a thick forest. The birds nest and lay eggs in the holes of trees or rock crevices.
Around March, the birds fly to the islet for breeding between May and June before leaving for wintering places in early October.
THE PYONGYANG TIMES