Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser, male

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Red-breasted Merganser, female

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Food
7. Behavior
8. Reproduction
9. Other Names

A large diving duck with a long thin bill, the Red-breasted Merganser is found in large lakes, rivers and the ocean. It prefers salt water more than the other two species of merganser.

Cool Facts

• The Red-breasted Merganser breeds farther north and winters farther south than the other American mergansers.

Description

• Size: 51-64 cm (20-25 in)
• Wingspan: 66-74 cm (26-29 in)
• Weight: 800-1350 g (28.24-47.66 ounces)

• Large, thin diving duck.
• Long, thin, orange to red-orange bill.
• Shaggy crest on back of head.
• White patches in wing visible in flight.
• Male with gray sides, dark reddish chest, white neck, and iridescent green head.

Eyes red. Legs and feet orange to red-orange.

Sex Differences

Male boldly patterned with white and gray sides, black back, reddish chest, white neck, and green head. Female dull gray with reddish head and shaggy double crest.

Male

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Head iridescent greenish black. Neck white. Chest deep rusty speckled with black. Back dark with long white patch along wings. Tail gray. Outer part of wings black. Bill scarlet-orange. Eyes red.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage: Head rusty brown with long, ragged double crest. Chin pale or gray. Breast, back, wings and tail slaty gray. Belly and flanks white. Bill scarlet-orange. White patch in wing visible in flight. Like female, except has less white on chin, darker back, and wing with larger white patch.

Female

Head rusty brown with long, ragged, double crest. Chin dark or pale, gradually merging with chest color. Breast, back, wings and tail slaty gray. Belly and flanks white. Bill scarlet-orange. White patch in wing visible in flight.

Immature

Immature resembles adult female.

Similar Species

• Common Merganser male has sleek crest, white chest and sides, and dark eyes. Female is cleaner looking, with brighter brown head that fades abruptly into whitish breast, has a distinct white chin, and has a shorter crest.
• Winter loons can look similar, but generally have thicker bills, more white in face, and lack shaggy crest.

Sound

Silent except in courtship when male makes a cat-like "yeow, yeow." Female makes a harsh "gruk."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and northern Canada southward to very northeastern United States. Also Greenland, Iceland, and across northern Eurasia.

Winter Range

Winters along all coasts and in Great Lakes from Alaska and Newfoundland southward to Mexico. Also to southern Europe and China.

Food

Mostly fish; also crustaceans, insects, and tadpoles.

Behavior

Foraging

Dives underwater to catch prey.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Depression in ground, lined with down. Often placed under boulder or in dense shrubs.

Egg Description

Olive-buff.

Condition at Hatching

Covered with down, eyes open. Leave nest within one or two days after hatching.

Other Names

Harle huppé (French)
Mergo copetón (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Titman, R. D. 1999. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator). In The Birds of North America, No. 443 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.