The males will grow to be larger than the females
These interesting looking birds are called common mergansers. I came across these ducks in Yellowstone National Park. They were drifting down a very cold stream, as you can tell by the snow in the photo. The duck on the left is the female, and she was chasing the male on the right. They were drifting down a swift moving steam. This is common behavior for these ducks. After a few miles the common merganser will either fly back upstream or fish their way back upstream.
The males will have a mostly white body, dark green head, and orange-red beak. The females have a gray body, reddish-brown head, and orange-red beak. The males will grow to be larger than the females. The females are known for their wild hairdos, which they refer to as a “shaggy crest”. These ducks can be found across North America, Asia, and Europe. Fortunately, this species has a robust population and extensive range. It is not considered threatened. Common mergansers are known as a large duck that often spends time at rivers and lakes. Their diet primarily consists of fish. They are adapted to hunt fish. Common mergansers have serrated edges to their bills that helps trap fish.
Although these birds are plenty capable of hunting on their own, they also hunt in groups. The common mergansers will create a semicircle and corral fish into shallower waters. Then the ducks feast on the vulnerable fish trapped in the shallow waters. They are much more graceful in the water than on land. Common mergansers are considered clumsy and slow on land. They walk like a penguin. In the air, they are quite fast. In fact, a similar species to the common merganser called the red-breasted merganser holds the record for fastest duck. The red-breasted merganser clocked in at an airspeed of 100 miles per hour!
Although these ducks are predators themselves, they are also a part of the food chain, especially when they are ducklings. Merganser ducklings have to be protected from squirrels, bears, hawks, eagles, owls, and even some fish species like northern pike.
They are much more graceful in the water than on land
Did you know?
- The common merganser nests in holes in trees. They line their nests with their down feathers.
- These ducks will hunt in fresh or salt water!
- These ducks are considered “partial migrants” because they head south to waters that are not frozen over during the winter.
- Common mergansers can fly ~70 days after hatching.
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