tags: Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A pretty bird but not a hard one: the long tail, black upperparts, chestnut sides, and black-and-white head identify this bird readily enough as a drake Hooded Merganser. What this photo illustrates well, though, is how plumage marks can vary with a bird's attitude. A birder expecting the big fan-shaped crest shown in the books might be confused for a moment by the floppy oblong this bird exhibits, and relaxed male Hooded Mergansers often show little more than a slit of white in the black crest. Sibley's Birding Basics is especially informative on this topic, showing neatly how head patterns change when a bird stretches of relaxes its neck.
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Comments
Heh. He can contort himself into wacky shapes, but he can't hide those markings. I believe that's the male Hooded Merganser again.
I learn from the local grapevine that a pair of these is currently in the Goleta Slough, up near the entrance to UC Santa Barbara. Methinks a visit might be in order. I've seen them before, but only at a distance.
Posted by: John Callender | December 11, 2008 11:00 AM
Hooded Merganzer...Male.
My dad shot a pair of them when I was a kid and had them mounted. This was just northwest of Cleveland, OH, in a beaver swamp about a mile from our house. I remember him being excited because they were quite rare and thinking at the time (I was about 7) "why shoot them then?"
They are beautiful birds. I wish I had been able to see them alive.
Posted by: TankDiveGirl | December 11, 2008 3:30 PM
Hooded merganser, it has the broad white spot completely bordered by black on the head. A small flock stays in a pond during the winter when the pond isn't completely frozen over.
Posted by: JPS | December 11, 2008 3:31 PM
Note on last week's Rosy-Finch:
You may be interested to know that all three species can be seen together just outside Albuquerque at the top of Sandia Mtn. See http://www.rosyfinch.com
Posted by: bobk | December 11, 2008 8:22 PM
This is a male Hooded Merganser. When I first saw this bird
I thought it had a unique hair style. That hooded head only shows when it's not flying. I think it makes sense for an aerodynamic reason.
Posted by: Hide Takahashi | December 12, 2008 2:29 AM