Red-breasted Merganser Similar Species Comparison

Main SpeciesRed-breasted Merganser

Male

Slim-profiled and long-bodied diving duck with a long, thin bill. Breeding males have a cinnamon chest, a white neck band, and a shaggy green head.

Female/immature male

Slim, long-bodied diving duck with a long, thin bill. Female/nonbreeding males are brownish gray overall with brownish chin and dingy breast.

Breeding male

Note slender body, ragged crest, and narrow, straight bill.

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Male

In flight, note thin neck, dark breast, and dark back. Tends to fly at an angle, with the head higher than the feet.

Female/immature male

Slender diving duck with a thin neck and a long, thin bill. Female/nonbreeding males have a brownish head and neck and a dingy breast.

Male

Immature males look like messy breeding males.

Immature male

Female/nonbreeding males have a brownish head with a shaggy crest. The color on the neck blends gradually into the chest without distinct white patches.

Courtship

Males dunk their chests and raise their heads and rears in a "curtsey" display for females.

Female and chick

Male

Large, slim, long-bodied duck with long, slender bill and ragged crest. Breast is smudged with reddish brown; back is dark.

Flock

Occurs in large flocks; in winter, more common in salt (or brackish) water than freshwater.

Similar SpeciesCommon Merganser

Breeding male

Males have white sides and a white breast whereas male Red-breasted Mergansers have gray sides and a cinnamon breast.

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Similar SpeciesCommon Merganser

Female/nonbreeding male

Females/immature Common Mergansers have a neat border between cinnamon throat and white breast; they also have a white patch on the chin that female/immature Red-breasted Mergansers lack.

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