Hooded Merganser

The male has a distinctive, crested head with a white patch. The female has a similar profile but with a dull, rusty head color. Smaller than the Red-breasted Merganser. Length 42-50 cm.; weight: 453-879 g. The only sound most people ever hear this species make is the noise the wings make as the bird takes off. Audio (M. Oberle). Breeds in northern North America and normally winters in the southeastern USA. Accidental in Puerto Rico (e.g. Aguada, 10 December 2000; Ca±o Tiburones, December 1999; a pair at Pueblo del Ni±o in Rφo Grande, 1 November 2001).

TAXONOMY: ANSERIFORMES; ANATIDAE; Anatinae


Males - Photo: G. Beaton

References

Bent, A.C. 1923. Life histories of North American wild fowl, part 2. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 126. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962).

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1992. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Dugger, B. D., K. M. Dugger, and L. H. Fredrickson. 1994. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). No. 98 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, PA, and Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birderÆs handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/Fireside, NY.

Madge, S. and H. Burn. 1988. Wildfowl: an identification guide to the ducks, geese, and swans of the world. C. Helm, London.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

http://www.seaduckjv.org/

Hooded Merganser, Spanish text

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Female - Photo: J. Wilson