Hooded Merganser Couple

Here's a pair of Hooded Mergansers, a duck I've talked about before but don't frequently see. 

I suspect they got the "merganser" part of their name because the females have a frizzy look similar to the Common Merganser. Despite frizziness and the name, Common Mergansers and Red-Breasted Mergansers are not closely related to the Hooded Mergansers. 

Technically "merganser" is derived from "mergus" (meaning waterfowl) and "anser" (meaning goose), making the term a little inappropriate for all 3 species (since they're all waterfowl, but they're ducks rather than geese).

Like many (but not all) ducks, these ducks are sexually dimorphic, with males and females having much different plumage. Here's a pretty good look at the female.

January 4, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 251773997, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

And here's a better picture of the male. Perhaps because there's no male competition around, this fella has his "hood" down; Hooded Mergansers can look much different with their hoods up.

January 4, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 251774016, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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