(Traduci questo post in Italiano)
Can friendship exist between animals, even between different species?
On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at first light, I headed to the shores of Lake Fimon, in Arcugnano, in the province of Vicenza, with the goal of photographing a pair of Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata). A photographer friend named Luca had informed me the day before of the presence of this species of bird at the lake.
Indeed, this was the case and their presence was noted among a group of mallards and coots.
The sky is cloudy and the sunlight is dim, a situation that can be good for avoiding shadows on the subject, but a little less so for enhancing its colors.
Both specimens immediately stand out for their characteristics.
The male’s plumage is very colourful and is considered among the most beautiful in nature.
The head features shades of copper-brown, blue, and metallic green. The neck has long, golden-brown sideburns with copper highlights. To me, the sideburns, also called whiskers, remind me of a type of golden fireworks.
The beak is red in colour, the eyes have a white outline.
The chest is purple-violet surrounded by vertical black-white lateral bands.
The orange “sails” and the presence of metallic-blue plumage stand out on the back.
The sides are yellow ochre in colour while the belly is light.
One of the two mandarin ducks I encountered at Lake Fimon has white plumage with hazelnut highlights. It is a Chocolate Mandarin duck, internationally known as the Apricot Mandarin , which is quite rare in the wild. It is not the albino variant of the species because, in addition to the fact that its plumage is not completely white, the eyes of the specimen photographed are not red.
While I’m busy snapping some photos, another nature photographer named Giovanni, an expert on the area, arrives. We introduce ourselves and exchange some information about this pair of mandarin ducks that have been in Lake Fimon for about 10 days.
Giovanni is very kind and suggests how to take some photos of them in the water.
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That evening, I showed the photographs I’d taken to a couple of friends of mine. Lorenza, upon seeing the photos, immediately recognized them as mandarin ducks. She told me that in their native countries, especially China and Japan, these ducks are a symbol of friendship, forming very stable pairs over time. Observing them in their natural habitat, I noticed that even when they were moving away from each other, they always maintained eye contact, and if necessary, they would quickly reconnect.
Is friendship between animals possible?
When I took the photos of the two splendid mandarin ducks, I simply pressed a button… but the result is the fruit of a collaboration between several people… Luca, Giovanni, Lorenza, the two mandarin ducks, and myself.
Friendship and collaboration bring results.
The colorful colors of the mandarin duck could represent the various shades of friendship.
…and who knows if one day, in addition to living together, we might go back to talking to each other among animals of different species
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Photo © Maurizio Romio. The photos were taken with OM SYSTEM OM-1 MARK II; OM System M.Zuiko ED 150–600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS Sync lens (35mm equivalent: 300–1200 mm); Olympus M. 40-150mm F2.8 (35mm equivalent: 80–300 mm).
Location: Lake Fimon – Arcugnano – Vicenza- Italy. Date: September 23, 2026.