n IN reply to Jim Stote's letter (You Say, Wednesday, April 28) concerning the missing male mandarin duck, it would seem he has disappeared, probably the victim of a mink that was in the area at the time.

The female, who has limited flight is still about and was quite distressed when the drake went missing.

He was flightless and so at much greater risk from predators.There is a large feral population of mandarins in Britain but the pair at Worcester had come from captivity.

Like Canada geese, although they occur and breed here, it is actually against the law to release them or allow them to escape, so it is a mystery how they arrived at Worcester.

Through working with swans at Bishops Wood Rescue Centre I am often asked about the unusual ducks on the city stretch of the River Severn.

Readers may have seen mallard-type large ducks - these are domestic farmyard ducks which again have been illegally released.

There are also a number of prettily coloured mallard sized ducks; these are known as call ducks and are basically selectively bred mallards chosen for their attractive coloration.

A lot of wild mallard carry call duck genes and so unusual colorations occur quite frequently.

We also have a male widgeon present, which is slightly smaller than the mallards with a yellow stripe on the top of a chestnut crown head.

The most unusual bird to be seen at the moment is a female goosander.This is a large grey and white duck with a brown head and a thin long beak used for catching fish.

The one at Worcester however is often to be seen eating bread with the swans, a very untypical behaviour for this type of bird.

EDWARD BIRD, Worcester.