Exquisite Hoodie

By Debbie Wiggins, Golden Eagle Guest Blogger

The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a ‘hooded diver.’   A merganser is a specialized duck having a long narrow bill with serrated edges.  There are two other species of mergansers in North America (Common and Red-breasted). The Hooded Merganser is the smallest and, it must be said, the most unique in appearance.  (Small means smaller than a Mallard and just barely larger than a Bufflehead.)

The adult male Hooded Merganser is black and white with rust-colored sides and bright yellow eyes. The adult female is slightly smaller with a brown body, tawny coloration on her head, and dark eyes.  The specialized merganser bill is cool, but certainly not the most unique feature of this duck.

Male Hooded Merganser by Linda Wentz

Female Hooded Merganser by Linda Wentz

Consider the Crest 

A crest is a slender array of  slightly-longer feathers on the top of the head.  Many species of birds have crests, but the Hooded Mergansers have CRESTS!  On the male, the crest is snowy-white, fan-shaped, and bordered in black. The female’s tawny crest flares from the back of her head. The thing about crests is that they can be raised or lowered, per the ‘situation.’ The raised crest of the male makes his head appear inordinately large and round, while that of the female makes her resemble a free-spirited hippie girl after a ride in a convertible. When lowered, the male’s crest seems to have melted off the back of his head, and the female looks to have no crest at all.

Diving Superpower

The striking good looks of the Hooded Merganser belies its underwater prowess.  These ducks are diving carnivores.  They are known as ‘sight-feeders’ with sharp underwater vision.  Like some other species of diving birds, they possess fine but powerful muscles attached to the eyeball. This enables them to change the curvature of both lens and cornea to correct for light refraction under the surface of the water.  So, acute vision above and below the water. They also have adjustable third eyelids which protect their eyes like swim goggles. Their serrated bill completes their superpowers, and they grab and gulp down fish with relish. The Hooded Merganser augments their diet with aquatic insects, amphibians and crustaceans.  OK, and the occasional aquatic plant.  

Hooded Mergansers and Canada Geese by Ken Miracle

Courtship Croak

These mergansers don’t quack.  Usually they are silent.  This changes with arrival of the mating season. The  elaborate courtship ritual takes place in small groups, several males and one female. The male raises his impressive crest, and a variety of  display behaviors follow, all involving ritualistic movements of the wings, neck and head.  At some point, a male aligns his body parallel to the intended female.  Then happens the most elaborate of all the displays: the head-throw. With crest raised, he abruptly stretches his neck backward until the head touches his back. In conjunction with this behavior, the hoarse vocalization that he produces sounds more like a frog than a duck.  Described as crrcrroooooaaa, this cannot possibly describe the actual sound; you just have to hear it.  Then, returning to the upright position, he turns his head away from the female. Courtship over.

Hooded Mergansers by Ken Miracle

Meanwhile, crest up, the female’s various displays happen in response to those of the male. The female vocalization is a coarse gack, often occurring simultaneously with the male’s deep frog-like utterance.  Once paired, the relationship is monogamous, but he has no parental responsibility.  After breeding occurs, she chooses a cavity 4-15+ feet up in a tree, near water. In the down-lined nest, she lays 9-11 eggs that are spherical rather than, well—egg-shaped. Interestingly, she doesn’t begin to incubate them until the last egg is laid; the entire brood hatches at about the same time. Called synchronous hatching, there is a better opportunity for equal feeding when the  hatchlings are the same size and age.  And since mom cajoles all the babies from the nest at the same time, same size/age surely improves each hatchling’s chance for survival, from the bounce to arrival at water’s edge.

Exquisite Hoodie

‘Hoodie’ is the nickname given to the exquisite Hooded Merganser, with  its striking appearance and notable lifestyle.   To me, ‘hoodie’ conjures the image of  a  sweatshirt.  In no way does ‘hoodie’ bring to mind an image of  a vital little duck. If a nickname is really required, can we please create one that better favors its subject?  Honoring the natural world, of which we are a part, surely deserves our collective best effort. 

Up next:  American Wigeon  (Mareca americana)

Resources:  

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (All about Birds and Birds of the World )

BirdNote, a radio show celebrating the amazing lives of birds

Murmurations, a blog of The Travis Audubon Society, Austin, TX

American Bird Conservancy