GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
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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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