Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. This sound mimics the ducks’ chatter call and piques the interest of nearby buffleheads. He was originally banded in Minnesota in 1995. Hooded is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009.The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America.They share many courtship behaviors and calls with both of those groups. On the bird family tree, Hooded Mergansers (genus Lophodytes) lie between goldeneyes ( Bucephala) and the other North American mergansers ( Mergus). In some cases they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level.
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