The Hooded Merganser is a small diving duck with a long, pointed bill. It is 15.8–19.3 inches (40–49 cm) in length and has a wingspan of 23.6–26 inches (60–66 cm).
The female Hooded Merganser has brown eyes, a reddish crest, and grayish-brown feathers.
The adult male Hooded Merganser has a white fan-shaped crest on its head. He has bright yellow eyes, a black head, a white chest with two black stripes, a brownish-black back, rust-colored sides, and a grayish-brown rump and tail.
The Hooded Merganser feeds during the day. It dives and forages on lake, river, and pond bottoms for fish, crayfish, and other crustaceans. It also eats aquatic insects and some aquatic plants.
Breeding season runs from March to May. Males court females in small flocks. The male raises his crest to attract a female, turns the back of his head towards her, and flaps his wings. The female points her bill skyward and bobs her head up and down.
The female lays 6-12 eggs in a nest in a tree hole or in a log. The nest is lined with whatever is in the hole, including woodchips, leaves, and other debris, and then lined with down. The male leaves the female once incubation begins.
The eggs hatch in about a month. The day after the ducklings are born, the female leads them to water. They fledge (develop flight feathers) in about 70 days.
The Hooded Merganser has a lifespan of 11-12 years in the wild.
The Hooded Merganser usually gathers in small groups of about 10–12 birds. When startled, these ducks quickly take flight. They are considered one of the fastest-flying duck species in North America.
The Hooded Merganser is a brood parasite* and sometimes lays its eggs in the nests of other ducks.
*A brood parasite is an animal that lays its eggs in another animal’s nest instead of building its own or raising its own young there. The host animal then incubates the eggs and often raises the chicks as if they were its own.
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The Hooded Merganser is a year-round resident of New Hampshire.
The Hooded Merganser breeds from southern Alaska south to Oregon and Montana, and from Manitoba and Nova Scotia, Canada, south throughout much of the eastern United States.
It winters near coasts from British Columbia south to California and from New England south to Florida and Texas.
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