Mergansers in the Hood

by Judi Dressler

Title

Mergansers in the Hood

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Male Hooded Mergansers swimming together and on the lookout for females. Even though it was only the end of January, they were already in courting mode; the one in the back has his head raised in a mini-display. We had driven over to the pond early to catch the beautiful dawn light and were not disappointed. You can see one female swimming with the males; they are beautiful in their own right, with a cinnamon crest.

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 January 27, 2017 just northwest of Denver, Colorado.

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Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include mergansers, merganser, hooded mergansers, hooded merganser, ducks, waterfowl, swimming, pond, courtship, breeding, breeding plumage, male, reflection, lophodytes cucullatus, lophodytes, photograph, judi dressler, dressler, group, birds, avian, water, paddle, colorado, hooded, and drakes.

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June 9th, 2017

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