Physical description ³

Red-breasted mergansers are large diving ducks with long, thin bills lined with serrated edges to help in capturing fish prey. Males are larger than females. Lengths range from 51-64cm/20-25in and weighs 800-1350g. In their breeding plumage, males are more colorful, with dark greenish heads, a white collar, brown-speckled breasts, steel-gray flanks, and greenish-black backs that are bordered by a white patch. Both females and males have a double crest of plumes at the back of their heads. Females are grayish brown, with a small, white wing bar, a whitish breast with gray speckles, and the feathers on the head are reddish brown. The bill and legs are reddish-orange and the bill has a black tip. Females stays the same throughout the year and immature birds resemble females. Males in the non-breeding season resemble females but have wider, white wing bars.

Summary ⁴

The red-breasted merganser dives down to 4 meters to catch fish, using its eyes to find them. The bill with its serrated teeth is ideal for holding onto its slippery prey. It's not hard to understand that clear clean water is very important for the red-breasted merganser. It breeds primarily in lakes in Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. The nest is well hidden in thick reed vegetation. Since the 1980s, red-breasted mergansers have also been breeding in the Netherlands.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Robert Keereweer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7261670@N03/2398614793
2. (c) BiteYourBum.Com Photography, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/biteyourbum/8300260390/
3. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25065644
4. Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) Copyright Ecomare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22758485

More Info

• iNaturalist.ca taxon page
• All About Birds-- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

Range Map

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