Birds of North AmericaMergansersAnatidaeLives, Habitats & Pictures of Mergansers
Known as "Fish Ducks", fish is the mergansers 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. The Red-breasted Merganser nest in the northern regions, but is more likely to spend its winter on the coast, living in saltwaters. The smallest of the group is the Hooded Merganser, which lives across the southern regions of Canada, throughout the US Central Plains, to the Eastern shorelines.
Mergansers are equipped for catching fish. Their bills are long and slender with serrated edges, formed like teeth for grasping and holding their prey. They are among the diving ducks, who will swim below the surface, hunting their quarry. The Smew is a member of the merganser family, this vagrant is seen from time to time visiting North America.
Return Mergansers back to Waterfowl Classic Collection of North American Birds
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