Page 120 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WILDFOWL
Order Anseriformes Family Anatidae Species Mergus serrator
Red-breasted Merganser
fuzzy crest
brownish
brownish grey body
head
MALE
(WINTER)
bold white
wing patches FEMALE smudgy
wispy crest on foreneck
MALE (SUMMER)
ginger- green-black head
brown head
FEMALE
slim, slightly
broad white line upcurved
between black back red bill
and grey flank
red legs
IN FLIGHT
white collar

brown, black-
edged breast
MALE
(WINTER)
“sawbill” duck, the Red-breasted Merganser is found both on
A fast, clean rivers in hilly regions and at the coast in summer, and FLIGHT: fast, direct, with long head and neck and
usually on the sea at other times. It often stands out on sandy shores tail giving marked cross-shape.
or rocks. Males display to females in winter
and spring with ritualized, jerky, curtseying
movements, fanning their spiky crests and
opening their bills. In winter, typically a male
or two will be seen with a handful of
“redheads” (females and immatures) but in
places a few hundred might flock together.
VOICE Quiet, sometimes low, rolling croak
or growl.
NESTING In long grass on ground or among
rocks; 8–11 eggs; 1 brood;April–June. DISPLAYING MALES
FEEDING Dives from surface to find small Male Red-breasted Mergansers stretch forward and jerk their heads forward while
fish and invertebrates. raising the rear body, in energetic displays.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Breeds by coasts or along fast rivers
GOOSANDER 2similar to MALLARD 3 yellow in N Great Britain, Iceland, Scandi-
3; see p.117 similar to 3; bill
see p.101 navia, and Baltic region. Winters
south to Greece and N France,
mostly on coasts. Big moulting
groups can be seen off sandy and
rocky shores in late summer.
sharper contrast
between dark head Seen in the UK
and pale throat
J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 51–62cm (20–24in) Wingspan 70–85cm (28–34in) Weight 0.85–1.25kg (1 3 ⁄4 –2 3 ⁄4lb)
Social Family groups/Flocks Lifespan Up to 8 years Status Secure
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