Hooded merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Photo by Bill Horn (Birds of Oklahoma)

Common name:

hooded merganser (en); merganso-capuchinho (pt); harle couronné (fr); serreta capuchona (es); kappensäger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Anseriformes

Family Anatidae

Range:

This North American species breeds across mots of the eastern United States, in the north-western united States and across most of southern Canada. Some populations migrate south to winter along the coast of California and along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Texas.

Size:

Hooded mergansers are 40-49 cm long and have a wingspan of 60-66 cm. They weigh 450-880 g.

Habitat:

They are generally found breeding in forested wetlands, namely spruce/fur to cottonwood/elder and oak/cypress/tupelo. They can also breed in wet grasslands and sometimes in open wetlands. During winter they prefer shallow, freshwater and brackish bays, estuaries, and tidal creeks and ponds.

Diet:

Hooded mergansers are mostly carnivorous, eating fishes, aquatic insects and crustaceans. They sometimes also eat aquatic plants.

Breeding:

These birds breed in February-June. The female selects the nest site, which is usually a cavity in a dead or live tree, or sometimes a man-made nest box. The nest is usually 1,5-5 m above the ground. There the female lays 6-15 glossy white eggs which she incubates alone for 26-41 days. Within 24 h or hatching the female leads the ducklings to water and they remain with their mother until fledging which takes place 70 days later. Each pair raises a single clutch per year.

Conservation:

IUCN status – LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 270.000-390.000 individuals. The population has undergone a large increase over the last 40 years, equating to a 85,9% increase per decade.