| Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus (Mergus cucullatus) |
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| The smallest of our mergansers, Hoodeds are most often seen along rivers and in estuaries during the fall and winter. They are usually found in pairs or in flocks of up to a dozen; when startled, they are among the fastest-flying of our ducks. Males perform a beautiful courtship display and, once mated, swim energetically around the female in further ritual displays. Hoodeds feed chiefly on small fish, which they pursue in long, rapid, underwater dives, but also take small frogs, newts, tadpoles, and aquatic insects. It is about 16-19" (41-48 cm). A small duck with a slender pointed bill. The male has white, fan-shaped, black-bordered crest, blackish body with dull rusty flanks, and white breast with 2 black stripes down side. Female is dull gray-brown, with warmer brown head and crest. Both sexes show white wing patch in flight. a personal note from Mary Alice Bowles It was such a pleaure when My husband George and I saw this pair of Hooded Mergansers swimming in a little cove right off the road at Land Stanfield at Muscatatuck refuge in Seymour, Indiana Each new experience I have with a bird I've never seen just makes my day! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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