( Log Out /  Seasonal changes can also impact what these birds eat as well. Nice blog and amazing capture! It was filed under Amphibians, Animal Diets, Birds, Diets, Ducks, Food Chain, Frogs, July, Waterfowl and was tagged with Bird Diets, Birds, Common Merganser, Food Chain, Immature Common Merganser, Mergus merganser, Waterfowl. Humans usually do not hunt these particular ducks, which can actually be beneficial to fish populations by weeding out the weakest individuals. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  The Common Merganser, (Goosander in Europe), Mergus merganser, is a large sized duck, that - along with the Smew and the Hooded Merganser - is also known as "sawbill" - so named because of the serrated edges to their bills to help them grip their slippery prey.. Distribution. Unlock thousands of full-length species accounts and hundreds of bird family … It seems like it would have trouble fitting down that long/skinny neck. They feed on a variety of small aquatic creatures, including fish, insects, snails, frogs, shrimp, crabs, worms, and more. Most Mergansers are primarily piscivores, or fish-eaters. Different species have different ranges and distributions. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This entry was posted on July 19, 2012 by Mary Holland. Commons even nest close to one another, even though they do not interact socially during the breeding season. Most Mergansers are primarily piscivores, or fish-eaters. Females lay an average of 9 or 10 eggs per clutch, and incubate them for about a month. Common Mergansers mostly eat fish, but they also eat aquatic invertebrates (including insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and worms), frogs, small mammals, birds, and plants. All images on this site and all text, both original blog text and excerpts from the book NATURALLY CURIOUS, is Copyright Mary Holland and may not be used without permission. Their bill is similar in appearance to a cormorant’s bill. Common Mergansers are primarily fish-eating ducks. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Animals.NET aim to promote interest in nature and animals among children, as well as raise their awareness in conservation and environmental protection. The Common Merganser is a large fish-eating diving duck, and has a long thin bill with toothy projections used to hold slippery fish. Learn more about them below. The common merganser’s fish diet also means there is almost no hunting pressure on its numbers. Average weight: M 3.64 lbs., F 2.73 lbs. Common Mergansers lay 6 to 17 eggs which hatch in 28 to 35 days. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Select. Common mergansers nest in tree cavities, nest boxes, cliff crevices, and on the ground, generally near clear-water rivers in forested regions and on mountainous terrain. Finally, Red-breasts live in Europe, Asia, Greenland, and northern North America. The female incubates and they are monogamous. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. In North America, they breed across Canada south to Pennsylvania in the east, and northern California in the west. The male in breeding plumage has a white belly, breast, and flanks with a gray rump and black back. Click here to order my children's book THE BEAVERS' BUSY YEAR. Because of this, some Merganser species face potential extinction. Though they are ducks, they are wild animals and do not enjoy human interaction. Average length: M 25.5", F 22.9 . These ducks are quite interesting creatures, with many unique traits and adaptations. Some species nest in tree cavities, others in dense vegetation or similarly protected areas. Common Merganser Diet. The first formal description of the common merganser was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.He introduced the current binomial name Mergus merganser. on Merganser. Zoos keep some species of Mergansers in their care. Change ). Each species has its own unique diet, and even birds of the same species have different diets when they live in different regions. Zookeepers vary their diet based on the species, providing anything from small fish and shrimp to pelleted duck diet. Child Friendly. The males perform courtship dances and calls to attract a mate. Morning. Their bodies are long, and they have long, narrow bills with a hook at the tip. These ducks breed with one partner per season, but a new partner each year. No, these birds do not make good pets. However, human activity does impact their habitats through deforestation, urbanization, and pollution. Seasonal changes can also impact what these birds eat as well. The female incubates and they are monogamous. The diet of Common Mergansers includes fish, insects and aquatic plants. They feed on a variety of small aquatic creatures, including fish, insects, snails, frogs, shrimp, crabs, worms, and more. Migration patterns vary by species. The IUCN lists the Common as Least Concern, the Red-breasted as Least Concern, the Scaly-sided as Endangered, and the Brazilian as Critically Endangered. Humans have not domesticated Mergansers in any way. Click to order my first book, a photographic guide for children entitled Milkweed Visitors. They range extends across Europe, North Asia and North America. T. he ducks have plenty of places to swim and forage, and zoos often provide them with nest boxes to lay their eggs in as well. Some species, like the Common, are quite social and live in flocks. here are four different species of these ducks, the Common, Brazilian, Red-breasted, and Scaly-sided Merganser. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Female common mergansers lay an average of 9-12 eggs. The pictured immature Common Merganser had just downed a crayfish when it spotted a frog which it… Also, if actually eaten, does the unlucky prey get swallowed kicking all the way as well?! Common Merganser nicknames include “Fish Ducks”, “goosanders” and “Saw bill”. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and merganser is derived from mergus and anser, Latin for "goose". Guided Walk. The Merganser is actually a small group of ducks that researchers place in the taxonomic genus Mergus.

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