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Red-breasted Merganser

Status Common transient, fairly common in summer and winter. Breeds. This is one of the most common ducks of our coastal waters and estuaries in autumn, winter and spring. During summer it is regular on coastal ponds and inland waters, particularly on Cape Breton Island.

Description Length: 50-63 cm. Adult male: Head black with strong green gloss and conspicuous crest; neck white; back black; breast pale cinnamon-brown, heavily mottled and streaked with black; sides white, finely barred with gray; belly creamy white; bill and feet red. Adult female: Head and crest dark cinnamon-brown fading to white on throat, but contrasting less sharply than in Common Merganser; upperparts bluish gray; underparts creamy white; bill and feet dull red. Adults in autumn and immatures: Resemble the female as above.

Breeding Nest: Always on the ground, near water and well hidden among protective vegetation. Composed of vegetable debris and lined profusely with down plucked from the parent's breast. When the female leaves the nest, the eggs are usually well covered with down as a protective measure against predators. Eggs: 8-10 or more; creamy buff. Anthony J. Erskine found a nest containing 10 eggs near Margaree Forks, Inverness County, on 6 June 1961, and Townsend (1922) found a pair nesting inJuly 1921 near the small pond on Isle Haute, a high, wooded island in the Bay of Fundy. During 4-28 July 1954, Godfrey (1958) counted 10 broods in various parts of Cape Breton Island. Two mated pairs were seen on Trout Lake, Annapolis County, on 23 May 1923, and later in June both females were seen there followed by their respective broods.

Range Breeds from northern Alaska, the Mackenzie Delta and northern Baffin Island, south to northern British Columbia, Alberta, southern Manitoba and the northern tier of the eastern United States. Winters from southern Alaska, the Great Lakes and Newfoundland south through the United States. It also occurs in Greenland, Europe and Asia.

Remarks Slightly smaller than the Common Merganser. Specimens of each can be readily distinguished in all plumages, sexes and ages by bill examination: the nostril of the Common Merganser is placed half way between the eye and the tip of its bill, but the Red-breasted Merganser's nostril is considerably nearer the eye.

On 6 August 1933 a mother was seen at Trout Lake, Annapolis County, escorting her brood. The youngsters were about a week or ten days old. Half flying and half swimming, they pattered over the surface at such speed that two able paddlers in a canoe were unable to overtake them.

Townsend states that both parents care for the young (Bent 1923). In my experience with this species, this is not the case. During 1923-49, I observed one to three pairs of these birds during May and June each year from my cabin on Trout Lake. Early in May the drakes were in company with their mates daily. Then, abruptly, the males disappeared and from then on the females were alone or, in due course, alone with their broods. A flock of 25-30 drakes of this species in full breeding regalia was seen off the Bay of Fundy shore at Margaretsville, Annapolis County, on 24 May 1931; these were obviously birds free of any domestic responsibilities.

The remarks concerning the feeding habits of the Common Merganser are equally applicable to this species.