Common Merganser

Physical Features

The Common Merganser is a large diving duck. The male has a dark green crestless head, a scarlet-orange bill and dark eyes. His breeding plumage is a white belly, breast and flanks, with a gray rump and black back. The female has a reddish-brown short-crested head with a narrow, red, serrate bill and white chin-patch at the base of the lower mandible. Her body is solid gray, and the crest is not often obvious. The male in non-breeding plumage is similar to the female, but with some white on the back. Juveniles also look similar to females, but they have a white bar across their face. The Common Merganser is between 54 to 71 cm/21.3 to 28 inches long, with a wingspan of 86 cm/33.9 inches and a body weight between 0.9 to 2.1kg/31.7 to 76.2 ounces.

Habitat

Common Mergansers prefer fresh water all year round. They breed in deep, clear, forested lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, including bays, coastal estuaries, and harbors. During the winters they frequent salt-water habitats of some areas. Late in the fall and early in the spring, they migrate short to medium distances in small groups, though adult males seem to winter farther north than females and juvenile birds. The post-breeding molt migration of males is not well understood, but it is thought that they migrate to large lakes, bays, and rivers to forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America.

Diet

Common Mergansers feed mainly on fish whereas aquatic insects are a primary source of food for young birds. Mussels, crustaceans, and other aquatic creatures also form part of their varied diet that consists of small fish, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, frogs, small mammals, birds, and plants.

Meat

The Common Merganser's meat has a strong fishy taste as a result of their predominant diet of fish.

Behavior

Common Merganser's form mating pairs in late winter or early spring, and females usually start breeding in their second year. Nests are located near water, usually in a large tree cavity, but may also be in rock crevices, under tree roots, and in nest boxes. Nests are made of wood chips and other debris found in the cavity, and down is added by the female, who usually lays 9 to 12 white to yellowish eggs. She incubates them alone for 28 to 35 days, while the male usually remains near the nest to provide protection, but he rarely stays with the brood once they hatch. The ducklings jump from their nests within a day of hatching and are taken by their mother in her bill to rivers or lakes immediately after hatching. The female leads the young to food, and they feed themselves mostly by dabbling and consuming freshwater invertebrates and small fish fry. They are able to dive well after a week. The female usually abandons her young before they can fly, sometimes as early as the end of the first week. Broods often join together in crèches during this time. They fledge when they are 60-70 days old but only reach sexual maturity at two years of age. The Common Merganser is normally quiet except in courtship when male makes a hoarse croaking, a twang-like sound similar to a bell clang note. The female produces a harsh 'gruk.' Their wings also create a rushing noise in flight.

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