Common Merganser #1
by Kathy King
Title
Common Merganser #1
Artist
Kathy King
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Like the other mergansers, these fish-feeding ducks have serrated edges to their bills to help them grip their prey; they are therefore often known as "sawbills". In addition to fish, they take a wide range of other aquatic prey, such as molluscs, crustaceans, worms, insect larvae, and amphibians; more rarely, small mammals and birds may be taken. As in other birds with the character, the salmon-pink tinge shown variably by males is probably diet-related, obtained from the carotenoid pigments present in some crustaceans and fish. When not diving for food, they are usually seen swimming on the water surface, or resting on rocks in midstream or hidden among riverbank vegetation.
Uploaded
April 20th, 2013
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Viewed 398 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/24/2024 at 9:34 PM
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