The mandarin duck is a hot contender for the title of the world’s most colourful bird.

It’s no surprise then that the small population of these multicoloured beauties, which has become established on the River Leven at Balloch, has attracted steady stream of photographers.

Two weeks ago our picture of the week, submitted by Graham Christie, featured one of the Leven’s mandarins - a fine male in all its glory.

While the presence of the ducks at Balloch has been enthusiastically welcomed, the excitement is nothing compared to the mania that erupted when a lone mandarin duck appeared unexpectedly on a pond in New York’s Central Park last October.

Swarms of locals, tourists and bird watchers crowded around the pond, hoping to get a glimpse the bird which was nicknamed “hot duck”.

Media reports say the duck has enraptured New York City in a way no small creature has since a rat was seen carrying a pizza slice down subway stairs in 2015. Where “pizza rat” was a symbol for the city’s grime, the mandarin duck has become a symbol of majesty and grace in Manhattan’s largest park.

No one has identified how the bird arrived in New York – mandarin ducks originate from eastern Siberia, China and Japan, though large mandarin duck populations also exist here in Britain.

A post on the Manhattan Bird Alert Twitter said the Central Park mandarin duck was probably released or escaped from a zoo or private owner.

The excitement generated by the Big Apple’s mandarin is an example of how “twitching” - the pursuit of rare birds - is now a global phenomenon.

It’s also big business. Enthusiasts equip themselves with top of the range telescopes, binoculars and cameras and pay for car hire and hotel rooms in their quest for a rarity. Some will even charter planes to get them quickly to a migrant hotspot

Meanwhile, away from such feverish activity, Balloch’s mandarins continue to lead a quiet existence, drawing admiring glances from the locals.