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redbreasted merganser (Mergus serrator)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION:

  • Length: 16 inches Wingspan: 33 inches

  • Large, sleek diving duck

  • Long, pointed bill with serrated edges

  • Thin, red bill seems evenly tapered throughout length

  • Shaggy crest obvious in both sexes

  • Red eye

  • White secondaries

  • Immature similar to adult female

Adult male:

  • Greenish-black head

  • White neck

  • Reddish breast with dark streaks, bordered on sides by black-and-              white patch

  • Gray flanks, tail, rump and uppertail coverts

  • Black back

  • White belly

  • White secondary coverts

  • Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer

  • Male in basic eclipse plumage like adult female

Adult female:

  • Red-brown head, paler on throat, but without well-defined chin

  • Red-brown head fades evenly to paler breast

  • Gray and white breast and belly

  • Gray-brown body plumage

Similar species:

Adult male in alternate plumage is similar to male common merganser
but has reddish breast and gray flanks. Female, immature and eclipse
male distinguished from similarly-plumaged common mergansers by
lack of sharply-defined chin and lack of sharp contrast between reddish
head and white breast, and by darker gray plumage, spikier crest, and
slimmer bill. In winter, Red-breasted mergansers are more likely to be
found in saltwater habitats than are common mergansers.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: N/A
Breeding Habitat: N/A
Nest Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 7-12
Length of Incubation: 30(29-35) days
Days to Fledge: 59(<65)
Number of Broods: 1
Diet: Mostly fish; lesser quantities of aquatic invertebrates

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May
R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November

      Winter: December, January, February

 

 

Back to Inventory of Bird Families and Species

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