Species

Hooded merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

A small, crested fish-eating duck that raises its fan-shaped crest like a sail, and nests in tree holes in Georgia's swamps.

Photo Justin Flint (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Nesting

At a glance

Size: About 40 to 49 cm long
Weight: About 450 to 900 g
Habitat: Wooded ponds, beaver ponds, swamps, creeks and lakes
Diet: Small fish, crayfish, aquatic insects and tadpoles
In Georgia: A common winter visitor; also breeds in small numbers
Voice: Mostly quiet; males give a low, froglike call in courtship
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Male: Black head with a white fan-shaped crest; black back; chestnut sides; white breast with black bars
Female: Grey-brown with a bushy, cinnamon crest and a thin bill
Told apart from: Bufflehead, which has a round head patch and a short bill
Told apart from: Wood duck, which has a short bill and a green head
Where to look: Quiet, wooded ponds and backwaters

Behaviour

Hooded mergansers hunt underwater by sight, using thin, serrated bills to grip fish and crayfish. Males raise and lower their crests in display, snapping them open like fans.

Why they matter

Hooded mergansers eat many crayfish and small fish and are an important predator in small wooded wetlands. Like wood ducks, they nest in tree hollows and boxes, so they depend on old trees near water, and they have increased where beaver ponds and nest boxes are plentiful.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A tree cavity or nest box lined with down
Eggs — Usually 7 to 13
Incubation — About 32 to 33 days
Leaving the nest — Ducklings jump from the cavity the day after hatching
Flight — At about ten weeks
Lifespan — Usually a few years; some over ten

Living around people

Nest boxes built for wood ducks are also used by hooded mergansers.
Crayfish-rich ponds and creeks with wooded edges support them; they need no feeding.

Misconceptions

Mergansers empty ponds of fish. They eat small fish and crayfish and do not deplete healthy ponds.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering; courtship displays	Pairs forming; nesting begins in the South	Incubation	Ducklings leave the nest	Broods on the water	Young growing	Adults moulting	Young flying	Present in small numbers	Northern birds arriving	Wintering	Wintering; courtship

Where it lives

Recorded in 67 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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