Duck with a tuft and a sharp beak: description of mergansers, habitat of wild birds

There are many varieties of ducks in nature. One of the largest is the merganser. This is a solid duck about the size of a medium goose, with a tuft and a sharp beak adorned with a series of notches. This immediately indicates the type of bird food, since such a device helps to capture and hold small fish, direct it to the throat and swallow. Mergansers are a whole genus of waterfowl with common characteristics. Two species are common in Russia: scaly and long-nosed merganser.

Origin and description of merganser duck

This is a large diving duck, larger than a mallard - the most common representative of the duck family.Mergansers are a separate genus of this family, which includes 4 now living species and one extinct a century ago. All these ducks are considered rare or very rare, but their total number does not currently cause concern among environmentalists. Related species also include sluts and crested mergansers.

Meganeses weigh from 900 grams (females) to over 2 kilograms (males). Drakes are brightly colored, distinguished by a black head and back, and a dark gray part near the tail. The rest of the body is white with a very thin pinkish coating. The duck is grayish-ashy above, white below, its head is brownish-red.

The beaks of the birds are orange-red, as are the paws. The edges of the beak are equipped with special notches that help to catch and hold slippery fish. From afar, it seems that mergansers have beaks with teeth. Because of this, the people often call the bird a bison, and due to its long neck and the habit of eating fish, they confuse it with a cormorant.

On the head of males and females of ducks is an original crest, consisting of long and thin feathers. They are elongated towards the back of the head and give the merganser a slightly disheveled, disheveled look.

Habitat

This wild duck lives in northern European countries, in Russia and America, as well as in parts of Japan. They prefer to choose the borders of wooded areas, stay close to water because they are waterfowl and feed mainly on fish, small invertebrates and crustaceans.

Different types of merganser ducks are found in the tundra and forest-tundra, as well as in mountainous areas, for example, in the Alps or in the Scandinavian mountains. They migrate not to the tropics, but to the middle lane, not descending south of the steppes and forest-steppes on the coast of the Black and Caspian Seas.

Merganer ducks are cautious birds, so they try to choose open water bodies that are not overgrown with lush vegetation. To take off, they need a large body of water, so they cannot be found on small ponds, lakes and rivers.

What does it eat?

The diet of merganser ducks can be envied by gourmets with a delicate taste.These birds prefer to eat rather large fish, up to 25 centimeters long. From river fish, ducks choose trout and small salmon, as well as grayling, pike, roach, eels and many others. While on the coasts, in river estuaries and estuaries, they catch herring and other marine fish that are suitable for them in size.

The following types of food are also consumed:

Shellfish.
Crustaceans.
Insects.
Worms and so on.

Hunting duck mergansers looks original and unusual. First, they are half submerged in the water, looking for prey, and then they dive, helping themselves with webbed paws, like flippers. It is because of this behavior of ducks that mergansers are often confused with cormorants.

Character and lifestyle of a duck

Mergansers are migratory or partially migratory birds. They leave for wintering in warm countries in October, early November, but return to their inhabited places early, already in February. Flying away, ducks form huge flocks, numbering hundreds of individuals, and return in small groups of no more than two dozen birds. When the weather is warm during mild winters with little snow, most mergansers do not fly south at all.

Those populations that live in the southern regions make the so-called vertical migration, moving over small distances.

These large birds are distinguished by a calm nature, but on occasion, ducks can stand up for themselves, because with their long red beak they not only successfully catch rather big fish, but are also able to break through the strong shell of crayfish.

Social structure and reproduction

Puberty in merganser ducks occurs at 2 years. The marriage ceremony is very beautiful and unusual. The male in a spectacular bright outfit performs an original dance in front of the selected female. These ducks rarely form stable pairs. Usually the clutch is incubated by the female, and the drake does not take any part in the fate of the offspring. Most often, it simply disappears after the end of the mating season. The female lays 8 to 12 white or cream eggs. Nests are arranged in hollows, the place for them is chosen by females, since males do not take any part in raising offspring.

If there are no suitable hollow trees in the vicinity, ducks can make a nest in the rocks, but they try to avoid dense thickets and tall grass, as predators can easily sneak up on the masonry.

Females differ not only in color from males, but also in the length of the feathers on the back of the head. They are thicker and shorter than those of drakes. During the nesting period, ducks pluck their own plumage - fluff from the breast, which is used to line the litter under the masonry.

Ducklings at first are very similar in color to their mother, only covered with soft and gentle fluff. They stay in the nest for no more than 2 days, after which they become independent, swim well. They have a developed instinct to follow, so you can often see the following picture: a merganser duck is swimming in the water, followed by a brood of fluffy ducklings lined up in a chain.

Natural enemies of mergansers ducks

These ducks are big and strong enough to resist even a larger opponent. They are armed with a sharp, long and strong beak, equipped with a jagged edge, dangerous as a saw. They can seriously injure them.

Mostly, the enemies of merganser ducks are people, but they can also be attacked by the following animals:

Foxes.
Raccoon dogs.
Domestic and feral dogs, if ducks venture to nest near villages and towns.
Birds of prey - eagles, sea eagles, gulls, crows and so on.

Smaller predators, such as mustelids or wild cats, cannot always cope with an adult duck, and even more so a drake. Most often they destroy nests, attack chicks or sick, wounded birds. Also, some reptiles can attack the brood or clutch, and large fish can attack the ducks themselves, but this rarely happens.

Population and species status

Merganese are rare species, in some countries - endangered. Nothing threatens their population yet, since the number is considered stable. However, in a number of countries, merganser ducks are listed in the Red Book, for example, in Belarus and Lithuania. This is due to the fact that on the territory of these states the number of birds is small and constantly decreasing.

The situation is also related to the type of the population itself. If the birds are sedentary, they are less threatened, and the number of mergansers remains stable. Migratory ducks are exposed to more hazards as they move from one place to another. Also, the biggest risk factor is human activities that destroy nature and habitual habitats of ducks.