Red-breasted Merganser

Overview

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.

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.

INTERESTING FACTS

It prefers salt water more than the other two species of merganser. 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. A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.