oshidori

[Page 109] 1 A special kind of wild duck called oshidori which is always seen in couples.

Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan b. 974? Murasaki Shikibu Izumi Shikibu 1920

Akanuma, he perceived a pair of oshidori [1] (mandarin-ducks), swimming together in a river that he was about to cross. to kill oshidori is not good; but Sonjo happened to be very hungry, and he shot at the pair.

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877

So he went to Akanuma; and there, when he came to the river-bank, he saw the female oshidori swimming alone.

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877