What is it that makes the Hooded Merganser such a desirable bird to see? He has bright yellow eyes, a black head, a white chest with two black stripes, a brownish-black back, rust-colored sides, and a grayish-brown rump and tail. They prefer clear water, woodland streams and rivers where trees provide cavities for nesting. The hooded merganser is a small diving duck with a long, pointed black bill. They inhabit wooded sloughs, streams and marshes. The Hooded Merganser Duck (Lophodytes cucullatus) is the smallest of the merganser species in North America. Hooded Merganser, Hillsboro, Oregon on 16 February 2009 by Greg Gillson. Hooded merganser breed mainly in southeastern Canada. The male is easy to identify. 1994) show the breeding range of the Hooded Merganser extending along the Pacific coast of North America from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south to Oregon. The adult male hooded merganser has a white fan-shaped crest on his head. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common and their populations are stable and possibly increased between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. This is also the time of year they select their mates. The male Hooded Merganser has an extravagant, large black and white crest outlined in black and bright yellow-orange eyes. Habitat: The hooded merganser has a fairly distinctive hatched shaped head. They winter along the East Coast of the United States, the Gulf Coast and, to a lesser degree, California, Washington and Oregon. Lophodytes cucullatus. Its broad and rounded crest of pure white, with an edging of jetty black, and which it closes or spreads out at pleasure, renders the male … Excepting the Smew or White Nun, the Hooded Merganser is the handsomest of its family. Male Hooded Merganser by Andrea Westmoreland Female Hooded Merganser. Breeding males have showy black and white crest, a couple zebra stripes on their white breast, and chestnut sides. Hooded Merganser. The hooded merganser is one of the most beautiful ducks anywhere and a regular resident in our area in winter. (Dugger et al. The female hooded merganser has brown eyes, a reddish crest, and grayish-brown feathers. Females and immature males are brown overall with a puffy crest and a thin orange stripe along the bottom of the bill. Its habitat preference is for forested wetlands. Hooded Merganser are not on the 2016 State of North America's Birds Watch List. Why is it on everyone's list of favorite ducks? It is generally seen on ponds, or fresh to brackish backwaters in the refuge. Small duck; feeds by diving to catch mainly fish with thin, serrated bill. The species rates a 9 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score. Males and females don’t look that much alike but they both have crests that can raise and lower so that their head looks more like other ducks. Description: Hooded Mergansers are part of the Anatidae family, a family that includes different types of ducks. 2003). The Hooded Merganser is the smallest of three North American mergansers and the only one restricted to this continent. In Oregon the Hooded Merganser is a locally uncommon and sparsely distributed summer resident in all but the southeast corner of the state (Marshall et al. Females also are “hooded” with a gray and brown head and a cinnamon-colored body. Nests in cavities. Well, certainly, birds with crests seem to be favorites (think cardinal, pileated woodpecker, and cedar waxwing). The Hooded merganser is the smallest of the three North American mergansers, and is uncommon in our area and breeds at the Refuge. The Hooded Merganser is an award winning Penticton restaurant nestled on Okanagan Lake and managed by Penticton Lakeside Resort & Conference Centre. Certainly, birds with crests seem to be favorites ( think cardinal, pileated woodpecker, and is uncommon our! 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