Common Merganser

For a bird with “common” in their name, they sure have a lot of nicknames! Their nicknames include “sawbills” because they have a thin sharp red bill with pointy “teeth” or serrations (to better hang onto fish), “fish ducks” because they eat fish, and “goosanders” (latin for plunging goose) because they spend so much of their time diving or submerged. Common mergansers are large ducks, significantly larger than hooded mergansers. Common mergansers may weigh up to 4.75 pounds, with a height of just under 28 inches, and a wingspan just under 34 inches. Male common mergansers have an iridescent dark green head and a bright white body, while the female has a gray body and a rust colored head with shaggy plumage. The diet of common mergansers is mostly fish, with a few shrimp, mussels, frogs and insects. Young hatchlings can feed themselves and begin on a diet of aquatic insects, but progress to fish by twelve days after hatching. Common Mergansers make their nests in large tree cavities (often repurposing woodpecker nests), nest boxes, or occasionally rock crevices.