Hooded Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus
(Anatidae)
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S4B
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
General Description
The Hooded Merganser is a small (length 46 cm) duck with a thin, serrated bill and a puffy crest. The adult male has a black head with a large white patch on each side, a dark back, brown flanks, and a white chest with two black bars on each side. The adult female is brownish overall, with a yellowish lower mandible. The first-winter male resembles the female. In flight, both sexes show black-and-white inner secondaries (Peterson 1980, NGS 1983).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Hooded Mergansers differ from other mergansers in being smaller, having white head patches (males), and by lacking a red bill. The differ from the Bufflehead by lacking white sides.
Migration
Montana birds presumably migrate to the west coast, unless they overwinter (Skaar pers. comm.). Migration records are from late February to early April and from September to October.
Habitat
Hooded Mergansers are generally found in river areas bounded by woods and supporting good fish populations associated with clear water (Johnsgard 1986).
Food Habits
Main foods taken are primarily aquatic insects, fish, and crustaceans (particularly crayfish). (Dugger and Fredrickson 1994).
Reproductive Characteristics
Cavity nester using live or dead trees. Eggs unusual in being almost spherical with disproportionately thick shells. White in color. Clutch size probably not greater than 13. (Dugger and Fredrickson 1994). Hatching dates near Fortine are for early June. Breeding occurs statewide from late June to the end of July.
Citations & Sources
- Johnsgard, P. A. 1986. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder. xi + 504 pp.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. vi + 144 pp.
- National Geographic Society. 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. 464 pp.
- NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. 2002. Version 1.6 . Arlington, Virginia, USA: NatureServe. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: March 20, 2003 ).
- Peterson, R. T. 1980. A field guide to the birds east of the Rockies. Houghton Mifflin Co. 383 pp.
- Skaar, D., D. Flath, and L. S. Thompson. 1985. Montana bird distribution. Monograph #3, supplement vol. 44. Proceedings Montana Academy of Sciences. 71 pp.
