From Opus

Photo by soenke

Mergus serrator

[edit] Identification

L. 52-58 cm
W. 67-82 cm Long, thin red bill with serrated edges
Adult Male

• Dark head with a green sheen
• White neck with
• Rusty breast
• Black back
• White underparts
  

Male
Photo by Mahsleb
Mistley, Essex, Fenruary 2009

Adult Female

• Rusty head
• Greyish body
  

Juvenile Like the female, but lacks the white collar and has a smaller white wing patch.

[edit] Distribution

Northern Palearctic and northern North America; winters southern Palearctic and Mexico

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

[edit] Habitat

Freshwater lakes and rivers.

[edit] Behaviour

This is a diving duck. The diet is mainly small fish, aquatic insects and frogs.

[edit] Vocalisation

The call of the female is prak prrak

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avianweb

• List of references

[edit] External Links