Hooded Mergansers ducks have a crest at the back of the head which can be expanded or contracted. In adult males, this crest has a large white patch, the head is black and the sides are reddish brown. The adult female has a reddish crest, with much of the rest of the head and body a greyish-brown. The Hooded Merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser.
Their breeding habitat is swamps and wooded ponds on the
northern h
alf
of the United States or southern Canada. They prefer to nest in
tree cavities near water but will use Wood Duck nesting boxes if
available and unoccupied. They form pairs in early winter.
Hooded Mergansers are short distance migrants and winter in the United States wherever winter temperatures allow for ice free conditions on ponds, lakes and rivers. Although they have occurred as vagrants to Europe, this attractive species is so common in collections that only a ringed bird would be likely to be accepted as anything other than an escape.
They feed by diving and swimming under water to collect small
fish Common Merganser in breeding Plumage
crustaceans and aquatic insects
