Hooded Merganser Drakes

by Judi Dressler

Title

Hooded Merganser Drakes

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A pair of Hooded Merganser drakes (male ducks) flying off together in the late afternoon. They had been socializing with other ducks, including some females, in a small pond on a cloudy day, but it was time to go!

From Cornell Labs: '“Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old.
They court in groups of one or more females and several males. The males raise their crests, expanding the white patch, often while shaking their heads. Their most elaborate display is head-throwing, in which they jerk their heads backwards to touch their backs, with crests raised, while giving a froglike croak.'

Photo taken on January 23, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado

-------------------------------------------------

Won 1st Place in FAA's DUCKS GEESE OR SWANS IN FLIGHT contest, on 8/31/2021

-------------------------------------------------

Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include mergansers, hooded mergansers, flying, hooded, hoodies, reflection, drakes, in flight, pair, lake, pond, water, ducks, waterfowl, lophodytes cucullatus, lophodytes, birds, avian, colorado, judi dressler, and dressler.

Uploaded

January 30th, 2021

Statistics

Viewed 846 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/14/2024 at 5:38 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags