A rare and beautiful Mandarin duck, native to East Asia, has turned up in New York City’s Central Park. The bird spends most of its time entertaining curious on-lookers in a pond near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. City official plan to leave the duck alone so long as it’s safe. From CBS News:
(Bird enthusiast Dave) Barrett said he’s checked with every zoo in the city and none are missing a duck. It leads the bird-watching community to believe it was a domestic pet, which is illegal in New York City.
“It might have got away or someone might have got tired of it and dumped it,” Barrett said.
It also may have flown to Manhattan from a neighboring town.