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Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serratorOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Red-breasted Merganser Portrait
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General

Red-breasted Merganser: Medium-sized diving duck with black upperparts, gray sides, rust-brown breast, and white belly. Head, double crests, and neck are green; neck ring is white. Bill is long, thin, and bright orange. Females are gray overall with gray-washed, red-brown head, double crest, and white breast and belly.

Range and Habitat

Red-breasted Merganser: Breeds in Alaska and across northern Canada to Newfoundland and south to the Great Lakes. Spends winters chiefly along the coasts from Alaska south to California, from Maritime Provinces south to Florida, and along the Gulf Coast. Preferred habitat for breeding includes wooded lakes and tundra ponds; found mainly on saltwater during winter.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

  • The Red-breasted Merganser was first described in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.
  • They breed farther north and winter farther south than the other American mergansers.
  • It prefers salt water more than the other two species of merganser.
  • A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Red-breasted Merganser
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Mergus serrator
Length16 - 26 Inches
Wingspan33 Inches

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser: Medium-sized diving duck with black upperparts, gray sides, rust-brown breast, and white belly. Head, double crests, and neck are green and the neck ring is white. Bill is long, thin, and bright orange. Feet and legs are orange. Feeds mostly on fish, which it finds by diving.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-breasted Merganser: Eats mostly fish; forages by diving from the surface to pursue prey underwater; groups often hunt cooperatively, herding fish into shallow water where they are easier to catch.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-breasted Merganser: Five to sixteen olive buff or green buff eggs are laid in a down-lined depression concealed under a bush or in a brush pile. Incubation ranges from 29 to 35 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Red-breasted Merganser: Common Merganser lacks distinct crest and has white underparts. Female has a clean-cut line between its rust-brown neck and white breast.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-breasted Merganser Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Red-breasted Merganser: Breeds in Alaska and across northern Canada to Newfoundland and south to the Great Lakes. Spends winters chiefly along the coasts from Alaska south to California, from Maritime Provinces south to Florida, and along the Gulf Coast. Preferred habitat for breeding includes wooded lakes and tundra ponds; found mainly on saltwater during winter.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationWidespread
MigrationMigratory
Weight40 Ounces