Charles and Bob discuss the Hooded Merganser. It is a duck that has some very un-duck like qualities.
Related episodes: Mallards Mate with Other Ducks, Firefighting Beavers, What It’s Like to be a Bird with David Sibley, Erin Brockovich
Our sources for this episode include:
Thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for allowing us to display this excellent photo of a pair of hooded mergansers.
Thanks for reminding us to keep an eye out for this unducky duck. When I’ve seen them here in New England, they have indeed been lurking loners on the edges of larger more homogenois groups of mallards or canadian geese. Reminds me of the old Sesame Street game… one of these things is not like the others! Learned a lot today, thanks again.
Love the Sesame Street game comparison!
I live in Massillon,Ohio and around 3:30 while walking over the Cherry Rd viaduct, I looked over the edge of the bridge and there was a pair of Hooded Mergansers. I watched them for 10 minutes and they were indeed diving under the water . When the male spotted me they started swimming northward up the Tus River . Earlier today around 1 there were also 5 really large white geese or swans . My phone is not good for taking pictures. We have lots of Canadian geese but these other birds are not common in my area .
The Hooded Merganser is one cool looking duck! Glad you had a chance to see one.