“…In other waterfowl, intraspecific nest parasitism has been shown to be disadvantageous due to the larger number of nest desertions produced ; 2' 10,14 however, desertion is very uncommon in the Mandarin Duck. 1 Unlike the Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, 15 the Mandarin Duck readily incubates large numbers of eggs with little effect on hatching success. Methods for the precise identification of the parentage of the embryos within a single clutch are essential to explore further the nature of intraspecific nest parasitism in the Mandarin Duck, and so to quantify the cost and benefits of this reproductive strategy for this cavity-nesting species.…”