All birds Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
Common Merganser
Mergus merganser
Here November to March.
Look for
- Males are mostly white, with a black back and a green head.
- A long red bill. It's thick where it meets the face and narrow at the tip.
- Females are gray with a bright rusty head. The white throat stands out sharply from the brown.
A little about it
Common Mergansers are winter ducks here. You can find them from November to March. They come late in fall and leave early in spring. Grown-up males tend to spend the winter farther north than females and young birds.
These ducks eat mostly fish. A merganser swims along and dips its head under the water again and again, looking for fish. When it spots one, it dives and chases it, kicking with both feet at once. It also eats mussels and shrimp, and even salamanders.
Their flocks are usually small. At big lakes, the small flocks sometimes join up into big groups. In Britain, people call this duck the "Goosander."
The nest is most often in a big hole in a tree near water. They also use nest boxes. Sometimes they nest in a crack in a rock or a hole under tree roots. The mother lays 8 to 11 eggs. A day or so after hatching, the babies climb up to the hole and jump to the ground.
Fun fact
A grown-up male Common Merganser can swallow a fish that's more than 1 foot long.
When it's here
- January: here
- February: here
- March: here
- April: a few
- May: not here
- June: a few
- July: not here
- August: not here
- September: here
- October: not here
- November: here
- December: here
Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in January.
How big
22 to 27 inches. Bigger than a crow, and about as big as a Mallard.
Where to look
Lakes and big rivers. Along a river, they may rest for hours on rocks or on the shore.
People have spotted it at Lake Hefner.
Could it be something else?
Red-breasted Merganser
The male has gray sides, a dark reddish chest, and a white ring around his neck, so he looks less white. The female looks a lot alike. Her pale throat blends into her duller brown head, and her bill is thinner.
Mallard
A male Mallard has a green head too. His bill is yellow, and his body is gray with a reddish chest. A male Common Merganser is mostly white, with a long red bill.
More photos
Where these facts come from
- Audubon Guide to North American Birds
- When it's here: Sightings shared on iNaturalist in the 8 counties, all years.