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Hooded Merganser Range Map

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Range Map for Hooded Merganser

Year-roundBreedingMigrationNonbreeding

Migration

Resident to medium-distance migrant. In eastern North America, many Hooded Mergansers move south and southwest in winter, but some actually migrate north to spend winters in the Great Lakes and southern Canada. Most of the Hooded Mergansers that breed in the upper Midwest migrate along the Mississippi River. Hooded Mergansers breeding west of the Rockies migrate west and south toward the Pacific. Hooded Mergansers are late fall migrants, sometimes moving just ahead of winter ice. In spring they arrive early at breeding grounds, within a few days of the ice melting.

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Compare with Similar Species

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Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

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Species in This Family

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)

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Pink-footed Goose

Blue-winged Teal

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Eurasian Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Black Duck

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Green-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Steller's Eider

Spectacled Eider

White-winged Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

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