Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

✨ Shiny — winter rarity
Winter only — roughly November through March✨ Shiny — winter rarity

The take

The winter pond-prize — when the male raises that white fan crest, you'll know.

How to ID it

  • Male's black fan-shaped crest opens to show a huge white patch
  • Thin serrated bill; male has chestnut flanks and black-striped white chest
  • Female gray-brown with a ragged cinnamon crest; dives for fish and crayfish

Field marks at a glance

Size
large
Head
black with white fan patch (male) / cinnamon crest (female)
Call
low froglike croak in display

Where & when

Winter only — roughly November through March — best odds at latta nature preserve.

Learn more

Sources