Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Flares a massive black-and-white crest like a sail going up. The most theatrical small duck on the pond.

Population: ~1.1 million mature individuals globally (increasing, ~5%/year 1966–2019 per BBS trend)
Habitat: Forested wetlands, wooded ponds, small estuaries, flooded timber, and rivers; breeds on freshwater near mature trees with cavities across diverse forest types (spruce-fir, pine-hardwood, oak-cypress-tupelo), winters in shallow freshwater and brackish bays, estuaries, and tidal creeks
Fun fact: The Hooded Merganser is the smallest merganser native to North America and the only merganser species restricted to that continent, with both sexes sporting a distinctive fan-shaped crest they can raise or flatten at will.
Range: North America — breeds across the eastern half of the continent (southern Canada to the Gulf Coast) and in the Pacific Northwest (Washington/British Columbia to northern Idaho); winters in the southern and coastal U.S.; rare vagrant to Europe and the Caribbean
Diet: Primarily small fish, plus aquatic insects, crustaceans (especially crayfish), amphibians, mollusks, and some vegetation, caught by diving and locating prey visually
Size: 0.45 m
Wingspan: 0.63 m
Lifespan: 11.5 years

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