06/12/2026
The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a small North American duck found in freshwater habitats and brackish coastal waters. Like other mergansers, they locate prey by sight, then dive underwater and use their serrated bills to catch fish, invertebrates, and amphibians. Males in breeding plumage have striking black, white, and chestnut feathers, with a large black and white crest that is raised during courtship displays. Females have a reddish-brown crest, and more subdued plumage for camouflage while nesting. Hooded Mergansers nest in tree cavities. The ducklings leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching, leaping as much as 30 ft from the nest to the forest floor. Ducklings are precocial, meaning they can feed themselves soon after leaving the nest, but they remain with their mother for protection from predators for several weeks until they are capable of flight.
Visitors to Sylvan Heights Bird Park may see Hooded Mergansers in the North America and Multinational aviaries!
