pauraque: bird flying (Default)
pauraque ([personal profile] pauraque) wrote in [community profile] common_nature2024-04-18 10:00 am

Common Mergansers

I spotted this pair of Common Mergansers (also called Goosander in Europe) on the river yesterday. I was up on a bridge and I don't think they realized I was there, so I got some lovely close looks as they swam by.



The male has a mostly white body with a black back and a very dark green head which can look black depending on lighting. The female is gray with a pale breast and a reddish-brown head featuring a shaggy punk hairstyle. Both have a narrow red bill, used to poke around in the sediment when they dive underwater for prey.