Red-Breasted Merganser

Description: The red-breasted merganser is similar in build and appearance to the common merganser, though it’s significantly smaller. The drake has a shaggy double-crested green head, a white collar, a reddish-brown chest, a white belly, and a black back. The hen has a reddish-brown head with a less pronounced crest, a gray back and sides, and a white belly. Average size: 18-23 inches. Average weight: 1 ½-3 pounds.

Science: Red-breasted mergansers have a wide breeding range, which extends over Alaska, across Canada to Newfoundland, and into the Great Lakes area. They nest around wooded lakes and tundra ponds. Their late migration begins in November; they travel in small flocks that rarely grow larger than a dozen birds and winter on coastal bays and estuaries on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They eat small fish and some crustaceans. The population of these quiet birds is stable.

Hunting: Red-breasted mergansers are mostly taken incidentally by hunters seeking other waterfowl, though they are sometimes pursued as a collector’s trophy. Due to their diet, the eating quality is poor.