Scientific Name: Mergus serrator
If ducks are best defined by their bills, then mergansers are the least ducklike of all ducks. One of three mergansers in North America, the Red-breasted shares with its relatives a long, forceps-shaped, serrated bill that is superbly adapted for catching fish. The Red-breasted differs in being almost exclusively marine with not breeding.
A duck with a long, narrow, bright red bill. Adult males hav a black back, gray sides, reddish-brown speckled breast, and a white collar. The darl iridescent green head carries a wispy crest that extend backwards. Females and immature males are largely grayish brown with a crested, rusty-brown head. In all plumages, white on the inner half of the wind is visiable in flight.
Breeds from Alaska east throughout northern Canada as far south as the Great Lakes; winters along all three coasts.
(reference: National Audubon Society Pocket Guide)
East Coast Waterfowlers Capt Steve King, NY
Ocean State Outfitters Capt Jeremiah Brooks, RI, MA
Cassel’s Waterfowl Outfitters Capt Dennis Cassel, NJ
Ragged Reef Outfitters, Capt Bill Nyman
Land and Lake imaging, Danny Klauss “photographer”
Flyway Taxidermy, Jerry Froelich “taxidermist”
Alaska Trophy Adventures, Capt Charlie Summerville