Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

HOW TO IDENTIFY:

* Length: 16 inches Wingspan: 33 inches
* Large, sleek diving duck
* Long, pointed bill with serrated edges
* Thin, red bill seems evenly tapered throughout length
* Shaggy crest obvious in both sexes
* Red eye
* White secondaries
* Immature similar to adult female

Adult male:

* Greenish-black head
* White neck
* Reddish breast with dark streaks, bordered on sides by black-and-white patch
* Gray flanks, tail, rump and uppertail coverts
* Black back
* White belly
* White secondary coverts
* Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer
* Male in basic eclipse plumage like adult female

Adult female:

* Red-brown head, paler on throat, but without well-defined chin
* Red-brown head fades evenly to paler breast
* Gray and white breast and belly
* Gray-brown body plumage

Similar species:

Adult male in alternate plumage is similar to male Common Merganser but has reddish breast and gray flanks. Female, immature and eclipse male distinguished from similarly-plumaged Common Mergansers by lack of sharply-defined chin and lack of sharp contrast between reddish head and white breast, and by darker gray plumage, spikier crest, and slimmer bill. In winter, Red-breasted Mergansers are more likely to be found in saltwater habitats than are Common Mergansers.