Where are common mergansers found?

Is the common merganser endangered?

Common Merganser populations in North America declined by over 2% per year between 1966 and 2014, resulting in a cumulative decline of 65%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. They are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List.

Where can you find a common merganser?

Common Merganser Geographic Range Mergus merganser (common mergansers or goosanders) happens in the Nearctic and Palearctic areas. Although their abundance has been lowering in North America, they’re nonetheless essentially the most plentiful of the mergansers discovered there.

What is a merganser bird?

Common mergansers a large seaduck that swims gracefully in lakes and rivers of Europe, Asia, and North America. The bird has a crest of longer head feathers, but these usually lie smoothly rounded behind the head.

Where do mergansers nest in the winter?

Common Mergansers are found throughout the northern hemisphere, and in winter can be seen in large flocks, sometimes of thousands of birds. In Europe they nest as far south as the Swiss lakes, but they are principally a bird of the northern forests, favouring fast-flowing rivers for feeding, roosting on nearby lakes at night.

What does a merganser bird look like?

The crestless head is dark green, the bill is red, and the eye is dark. The female Common Merganser has a solid gray body with a reddish-brown head.

What is the habitat of a merganser?

The Common Merganser, as the name indicates, is the most abundant and whose habitat covers the largest portions of the continent. The Red-breasted Merganser nests in the northern regions, but is more likely to spend its winter on the coast, living in saltwater.

Is the Chinese merganser endangered?

While this merganser does maintain a strong presence in China throughout the year, it may breed as far north as Russia and winter as far south as Thailand. It is also a species in rapid decline, considered vulnerable by some authorities and endangered by others.

How many species of mergansers are there in North America?

There are six living species of mergansers, three of which are commonly spotted in North America: The Common Merganser ( Mergus merganser) ranges widely throughout the northern hemisphere.

Where do common mergansers live?

Common Mergansers spend the breeding season in northern forested habitats near large lakes and rivers. Since they nest in cavities of large trees, breeding Common Mergansers are usually found in mature forests.

Why are mergansers important to the ecosystem?

Common mergansers are important predators of fish in the ecosystem they live in. They control populations of their prey and keep lakes and rivers from fish overcrowding. Common mergansers are often known as “sawbills” due to serrated edges to their bills that help the birds grip their prey.

What type of animal is a merganser?

Merganser. Merganser, also called Sawbill, fish duck, or trash duck, any of several species of Mergus, long-bodied, more or less crested diving ducks; though essentially freshwater birds, they are classified with scoters and goldeneyes in the sea duck tribe, Mergini (family Anatidae, order Anseriformes).

What do mergansers eat?

The mergansers are also known as “Fish Ducks” and fish is their main diet. There are three types of these birds in North America. The Common Merganser, as the name indicates, is the most abundant and whose habitat covers the largest portions of the continent.

What is the difference between a merganser and a mallard?

The common merganser, or goosander ( M. merganser ), is of mallard size; the male lacks a noticeable crest. It usually nests in hollow trees in north temperate to subarctic regions and migrates to more southerly rivers. The somewhat smaller and ground-nesting red-breasted merganser ( M. serrator) has a similar range.

What does a merganser duck look like?

Hooded Mergansers are small ducks with a thin bill and a fan-shaped, collapsible crest that makes the head look oversized and oblong. In flight, the wings are thin and the tail is relatively long and rounded.

What is a common merganser?

Common mergansers, also known as goosanders in Europe, are large waterbirds available all over North America, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are found in rivers and lakes of forest areas in Asia and Europe, as far south as the Swiss lakes. Common mergansers have mostly clean white bodies.

What does a red-breasted merganser look like?

The breasts are dingy, smudged with reddish-brown. Red-breasted mergansers have red, rounded eyes like common loons. These birds have a white neckband, but the neckbands of common loons are striped.

What is the difference between male and female mergansers?

Females and immatures are gray-bodied with a white chest and rusty-cinnamon heads. From late summer to mid-autumn, males wear a nonbreeding plumage that looks very similar to female plumage. In flight, both sexes show large white patches on the upperwings (larger in adult males). Common Mergansers dive underwater to catch fish.

What is the difference between a merganser and a loon?

Red-breasted mergansers have red, rounded eyes like common loons. These birds have a white neckband, but the neckbands of common loons are striped. Both birds live in the same territories year-round.

What is the habitat of a common merganser?

Common Merganser Life History. Habitat. Common Mergansers spend the breeding season in northern forested habitats near large lakes and rivers. Since they nest in cavities of large trees, breeding Common Mergansers are usually found in mature forests.

Do mergansers eat fish?

Thus, they are opportunistic feeders; regarding fish, they will probably eat any species that has the correct elongated shape and small size. Scaly-sided mergansers nest in trees, as typical for the merganser and goldeneye lineage of sea ducks.

What is a Chinese merganser?

The Chinese Merganser ( Mergus squamatus) is also known as the Scaly-sided Merganser, with good reason; this dashing duck resembles a goosander with a wispy topknot and fish scales along its flanks.

Are there any endangered species in China?

The Chinese endangered species classifications are updated relatively infrequently, and a number of species deemed to be endangered by international bodies have not yet been so recognized in China. Many listed species are endemic to the country, such as the groove-toothed flying squirrel and the Ili pika .