The Hood Merganser
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| Photo by Cheryl H |
“Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. They are black above, with a white breast and rich chestnut flanks. The black head has a large white patch that varies in size when the crest is raised or lowered, but is always prominent. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest, dark eyes and long, slender yellow bill. Females and immatures are gray and brown, with warm tawny-cinnamon tones on the head.
Hooded Mergansers are small ducks with a thin bill and a
fan-shaped, collapsible crest that makes the head look oversized and oblong. In
flight, the wings are thin and the tail is relatively long and rounded.
Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and
rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their
thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a
bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old.
Hooded Mergansers dive to catch aquatic insects, crayfish,
and small fish. Males court females by expanding their white, sail-like crests
and making very low, gravelly, groaning calls. Hooded Mergansers fly
distinctively, with shallow, very rapid wingbeats.
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