Hooded Merganser Hooded Merganser
Hooded Merganser

Scientific Classification

Common Name
hooded merganser
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Subfamily
Mergini
Genus Species
Lophodytes cucullatus

Fast Facts

Description
Both males and females of this species have large erectile crests resembling a hood and long tails for great maneuverability in flight. Males have eclipse plumage, which turns black, brown, and white during breeding season, and the male eye markings are yellow. Females have brown eyes and are brownish in color.
Size
Approximately 42 to 50 cm (16.8 to 20 in.) in length; wingspan 56 to 70 cm (22.4 to 28 in.)
Weight
Males weigh around 680 g (23.8 oz.) and females around 540 g (18.9 oz.).
Diet
Feeds primarily on fish; diet also includes frogs, tadpoles, crustaceans, and small mollusks
Incubation
32 days; breeding takes place March through May
Clutch Size
911 eggs
Fledging Duration
71 days
Sexual Maturity
Approximately 2 years
Life Span
11 to 12 years
Range
This species has an extremely large range and can be found in Anguilla, Antigua, and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States.
Habitat
Found in freshwater sloughs, streams, ponds, and swamps
Population
The population size is very large and appears to be increasing. The population is not severely fragmented.
Status 
IUCN: Least Concern
CITES: Not listed
USFWS: Not listed

Fun Facts

Males are called drakes, females are hens, and young are ducklings.

Hooded mergansers can fly at speeds approaching 80 kph (50 mph).

These birds are able to catch fish by direct underwater pursuit, remaining submerged for up to 2 minutes. They resurface to swallow their prey, turning it around so it is swallowed headfirst. This method avoids injury from the spiny fins of some types of fish.

Some refer to hooded mergansers as frog ducks because of the long guttural call that can be heard a half mile away.

Ducklings in the water may gather together in a tight compact group resembling a swimming muskrat. This instinctive behavior may deceive aerial predators like sharp-shinned hawks.

Hens frequently select nesting cavities as high as 23 m (75 ft) above ground.


Ecology and Conservation

Hooded mergansers help maintain fish and amphibian populations.

Though not listed as endangered, the future for this species may not be optimistic. Forest destruction and stream water pollution has reduced their breeding grounds. In some areas, fish farmers and anglers hunt hooded mergansers because they feel these ducks destroy the fish populations in those areas.


Bibliography

Austin, G. Birds of the World. New York. Golden Press, Inc., 1961.

Gotch, A.F. Birds - Their Latin Names Explained. UK. Blandford Books Ltd., 1981.

Johnsgard, P. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World. Lincoln. Univ. Of Neb. Press, 1978.

Palmer, R.S. (ed.). Handbook of North American Birds. Vol. 4. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

Scott, P. A Coloured Key of the Wildfowl of the World. Slimbridge, England. The Wildfowl Trust. 1988.

Todd, F.S. Natural History of Waterfowl. San Diego, Ca. Ibis Publishing Co., 1996.

animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/lophodytes/l._cucullatus$narrative.htm

BirdLife International. 2016. Lophodytes cucullatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22680472A92863561. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680472A92863561.en. Downloaded on 16 January 2019.