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Week of November 26, 2000 HOODED MERGANSER Contributed by CharlesWendell Townsend Photography:
Bill
Horn - Birdzilla
Senior Staff Photographer Text: From - Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl by Arthur Cleveland Bent
Spring: As some individuals are present both in winter and in summer over so much of its range, its migratory movements are not easily traced. The birds which have wintered just below the frost line begin to move northward before the ice has disappeared from our large lakes and streams, frequenting the smaller and swifter open streams; these birds move on as soon as conditions are favorable in their northern breeding grounds. Others come later and spread out over the country wherever they can find suitable breeding grounds. Courtship: The courtship of this species must be a beautiful performance. I have never seen it and can not find any account of it by American writers. Mr John G. Millais (1913) gives the following brief description of it: The courtship, according to my friend Mr. Franklin, consists of a sudden rise of the body with depressed crest. On coming to the water again the crest is fully expanded. The males also stretch their necks forward with fully expanded crest. Nesting: The birds are probably mated when they arrive on their breeding grounds and soon begin the search for a suitable cavity for a nest, but they are not particular as to the size and shape of the cavity, the kind of a tree in which they find it, or the height from the ground; almost any hole or a hollow tree trunk will do, provided it is large enough to admit the bird and of the proper shape to hold and protect the eggs; even the open hollowed top of a stump or a fallen hollow log will do; and sometimes a hole in the ground is occupied. Mr. Herbert Massey has sent me some notes regarding two sets of eggs in his collection. A set of 12 eggs, collected by Rev. P. B. Peabody, near Halloek, Minnesota, on May 9, 1899, was taken from a cavity in an elm tree about 100 feet from a wooded creek; the cavity was in a knot hole 15 or 20 feet from the ground and was 2 feet deep. The birds had used this tree for three years and had previously nested in an exactly similar hollow in an old elm stub half a mile below. The hole was so small that the bird could hardly squeeze into it. There was a scanty supply of trash at the bottom of the cavity, apparently brought in by squirrels, and there were a few of the breast feathers of the merganser mixed with the down; the eggs were nearly fresh. Mr. Edwin S. Bryant collected the other set of nine eggs, on May 28, 1899, near White Fish Lake, Montana; the nest of moss and down was in a hollow close to the top of a leaning tamarack stub 50 feet from the ground; the tree stood on a high ridge in a dense forest half a mile back from a small lake; the moss in the nest, apparently Usnea, Mr. Bryant thought had been brought in by flying squirrels. The female remained on the nest while he made the dangerous climb by nailing on cleats and he had to cut through from the upper side to pull her off the eggs. Mr. J. Hooper Bowles has sent me the following interesting notes on his experience in inducing hooded mergansers to nest in boxes, near Tacoma, Washington: I have never found a naturally located occupied nest of the hooded merganser, my rather limited experience being confined to nesting boxes that I put up for them. This was done through the kindness of Dr. G. D. Shaver, of Tacoma, Washington, who very kindly gave me entire use of his country estate near that city. The locality selected is a lake about half a mile in diameter, entirely surrounded by dense fir and deciduous woods, with a stream running in at one end and out again at the opposite end. At the head of the lake the stream runs through a large and heavily wooded swamp, in which I put up two of my boxes. A third was put up on a dead tree standing in the middle of the lake, a fourth on a tree at the outlet, a fifth on the side of the lake, and a sixth on a lone, giant fir tree that stands on a bare hill- side some 300 yards from the water at the end of the lake. All are about 18 feet above the ground, or water, and seemed to cover as well as possible the nesting sites that might be suitable for these birds. Not to take up too much space, I will say that a set of 10 eggs was taken from one of the boxes in the swamp at the head of the lake, a brood being reared in the other box there. A set of 11 eggs was taken from the box on the tree in the lake, the bird using the box on the lone fir on the hillside for her second, and this time successful, attempt at rearing a brood for the season. The box on the side of the lake showed no signs of being visited, but down feathers on the entrance of the box at the outlet gave evidence that it had been thoroughly examined, although considered unsuitable for some reason. The birds are so exceedingly shy that I have never been able to see them enter their nests, hut when leaving they come out at full flight, which would seem almost an impossibility under the circumstances. The eggs are just about the size, shape, and color of white billiard balls, and every bit as hard in their composition. Mr. Glen Rinker (1899) describes two nests, found near Unionville, Missouri, as follows: On the day mentioned I was sitting by the side of the lake watching a pair of females, when one of them raised and flew within 20 feet of my head. I was "all eyes" when she alighted on a snag about 50 yards back from me, and I noticed it looked down the hollow several times. I attempted to get closer, but she saw me and flew away. I then proceeded to examine the snag. It was about 2 feet in diameter and 10 feet high; the top was hollowed out to a depth of about 2 feet, and Icuked charred as though it had been burned. The nest was composed of leaves and some grass and a little moss, and had a complete lining of down. The eggs, six in number, were white, and were more round than most duck eggs. June 13, 1899, found me near the lake again, hut farther off in a thicker, watching a cardinal whose nest I knew was near. To my left was a tall bank where a lot of trees had fallen and which was overgrown with hazel hushes. I heard a whistle of wings, and looked up just in time to see a merganser settle down near on old stump. I waited about 5 or 10 minutes, and then walked quietly up to where I saw her light. When about 5 feet from the place, she jumped up with a quack, and started for the lake. Now, I have several keys and other book's, and they all say the hooded merganser nests in hollow trees and stumps, but this nest was on the ground under the roots of the stump, in a sort of a cave that was about 14 inches back under the stump. The nest was composed of about the same material as the other. but did not have as much down. There were only four eggs in the nest, so I left it until the 17th, when I collected them as only one more had been laid. On blowing them, incubation was just perceptible. The nest was in such a dark place that to photograph it was impossible without overexposing the outside. The down made the eggs hard to distinguish One of Major Bendire's correspondents, Mr. T. H. P. Lamb, writes that the Cree Indians of Saskatchewan call this bird the "beaver duck" and claim that it lays its eggs in deserted beaver houses, using the entrance under water, also occasionally in old muskrat houses. This seems hardly likely, however. Where suitable nesting sites are scarce, the hooded merganser sometimes contends with other species of tree-nesting ducks for the possession of a coveted home and occasionally they share the home between them. Mr. George A. Boardman has been several times quoted as having witnessed such a contest between a wood duck and this species, which resulted in the two females laying in the same~ nest and occupying it by turns. Mr. George D. Peck (1896) writes: I believe it is well known that the wood duck often drives the merganser from her nest, and in one nest I found 30 eggs of wood duck and 5 eggs of merganser. The hollow in the tree in which the nest was placed was not very large and the eggs were several layers deep. In Maine, Mr. William Brewster (1900) says that several of the rounded, pure white, thick-shelled eggs of the hooded merganser are sometimes included in a set of the green, thin-shelled eggs of the whistler. Eggs: The hooded merganser is credited with laying anywhere from 6 to 18 eggs; probably from 10 to 12 would cover the usual numbers. The eggs are oval or subspherical in shape. The shell is thick and hard, smooth and usually quite glossy. The color is pure white, but they are often nest stained. The measurements of 116 eggs in various collections average 53.5 by 44.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 57.5 by 45.2, 55.5 by 45.5, 50 by 43, and 50.5 by 41.5 millimeters. Mr. William Evans (1891) says that the period of incubation is 31 days: it is wholly performed by the female. The male is said by most observers, to desert the female as soon as the eggs are laid, but the following note by Mr. J. W. Preston (1892) is of interest in this connection: While camping on Little Twin Lakes, northern Iowa some years since, I noticed a male hooded merganser circling around a grove so often that it seemed certain tkat he was feeding his mate, which they do at incubating time. I concealed myself and watched for a long time, and eventually was rewarded by seeing the fellow fly plump into a hollow in a gigantic oak. It would seem to be a pioce of recklessness; cer- tanly, if he had not aimed well he would have suffered for the error. Young: Several writers have written that the female conveys the young in her bill from the nest down into the water, soon after they are hatched, and Dr. P. L. Hatch (1892) says he has seen it done: he writes: In one instance, a lady sharing my interest in birds and game, while rowing with me, noticed what we supposed to be a wood duck carrying her chick by the neck from a tree into the water. We waited in vain some time to see if the bird would not bring another young one. Reaching the middle of the small lake, we saw the duck, by the aid of the field glass, resumed the loving task and discovered the bird to be a female of the species under consideration. I suspect, however, that this instance was exceptional and that the usual method of procedure is for the mother to coax the young to climb up the edge of the cavity and then drop down into the water, or onto the soft ground, if circumstances are favorable, as is customary with most tree-nesting ducks. Their little bodies are so light and so elastic that the fall does not hurt them. Audubon (1840) says: The affectionate mother leads her young among tall rank grasses which fill the shallow pools or the borders of creeks and teaches them to procure snails, tadpoles, and insects. Mr. E. A. Samuels (1883) writes: When the female is suddenly surprised, while with her young in a stream or pond, she gives a guttural, chattering cry, when the whole brood dives and swims off under the water to the shore, where they conceal themselves in the aquatic herbage. While they are thus retreating, the mother simulating lameness, almost exactly like some of the shore birds on the beach, flutters before the intruder, using every artifice to decoy him from the neighborhood of her young, when she takes wing and flies off. If, however, she has sufficient notice of the approach of a person before he reaches gun- shot she swims rapidly off, with her whole brood paddling behind her, until she turns a point or neck in the pond or stream where she happens to be, when, silently creeping into shore, she, with her brood, hides herself in the herbage on the land until the danger is past. When about two-thirds grown, these young mergansers, like the young of most of the other fowls, arc excellent eating. They axe called flappers because of their habit of flapping their wings on the water to aid their escape from pursuers. Plumages: The downy young is thickly and warmly clothed with soft down in deep, rich shades of "bister" or "sepia" above, including the upper half of the head, the hind neck, and the flanks; the sides of the head, neck, and cheeks, up to the eyes are "buff pink" or "light vinaceous cinnamon," the chin, throat, and under parts are pure white; and there is an obscure dusky band across the chest and an indistinct white spot on each side of scapular region and rump. In the first plumage the sexes are alike and much resemble the adult female, but they are browner on the back and have undeveloped crests. Young males wear this immature plumage all through the first year, with only a slight change toward maturity during the first spring and the following summer. The summer molt leaves them still in immature plumage and with but little change in the new wings, which still lack the pearl-gray lesser coverts and in which the greater coverts are only slightly white-tipped. In November and December of this, their second, winter they begin to assume a plumage resembling that of the adult; the molt begins with the appearance of black feathers and white feathers in the head, spreading downward to the breast, flanks, and scapulars until by March or April a nearly adult plumage is assumed. In this plumage the colors are all duller than in old males; the crown, back, and rump are browner; the gray lesser wing-coverts are acquired, but the wings are otherwise immature. A partial eclipse plumage is assumed during the next summer, when the bird is 2 years old and late in the fall, November or December, the fully adult plumage is acquired. Young females can be distinguished from adults during the first year by their undeveloped crests and their duller and browner coloring everywhere; they become indistinguishable from the adults during the second winter. Adult males have a semi-eclipse plumage in summer, in which the head and neck become largely mottled with brownish and the breast and flanks lose their brilliant colors and resemble those of the female. The double molt is probably not complete, though the whole plumage is changed at least once. The full plumage is assumed early in the fall, much earlier than in young birds, and is usually complete in October. Food: The hooded merganser lives and feeds almost exclusively on and in fresh water; I believe that some of its food is obtained on the surface, but it is an expert diver and finds much of its food on muddy or on stony bottoms. Its food is mostly animal, and consists largely of insects. Like other mergansers, it is expert at chasing and catching small fish, which probably constitute its chief supply; in muddy pools it finds frogs and tadpoles and snails, and other mullusks; on clear stony bottoms it obtains crawfish, caddis fly larvae, and dragon-fly nymphs; sand eels, small crustaceans, beetles, and various aquatic insects are also eaten. It is also known to eat some vegetable food, the roots of aquatic plants, seeds, and grain. Dr.. F. Henry Yorke (1899) recognized among its vegetable food the following genera of water plants: Limnobium, Myriophyllum, Callitriche, and Utricularia. Behavior: Dr. D. G. Elliot (1898) writes of the flight of this species: On the wing it is one of the swiftest ducks that fly, and it hurls itselt through the air with almost the velocity of a bullet. Generally it proceeds in a direct line; but it is alarmed at any object suddenly appearing before it, the course is changed with the swiftness of thought, and a detour made before again taking the first line of progression. Sometimes, without apparent reason, the course will be altered, and away it shoots at right angles to the first route; and again, it vacillates as though uncertain which way to take, or as if it was looking for a good feeding place. Usually five or six, but more frequently a pair, are seen flying together, and often, on dull days when the lookout in a blind is somewhst relaxed, and the sportsman is consoling himself for lack of birds with possibly a nap or the lunch basket, the first intimation of the presence of a hairy crown is given by one or more flashing close overhead with a startling whirr, and then as rapidly disappearing in the distance. It requires a steady hand and a correct eye to kill them on the wing, and the gunner must be ever mindful of the good old adage in duck shooting, "Hold well ahead." It rises from the water without any preliminary motions, and is on the wing at once, and in full flight, the pinions moving with a rapidity that almost creates a hiur on either side of the body, the outline of the wing disappearing. Dr. P. L. Hatch (1892) says: Once in January, 1874, when the mercury had descended to 490 below zero while a north wind was blowing terrifically, I saw a flock of six of this species flying directly into the teeth of the blizzard at their ordinary velocity of not less than 90 miles an hour. The compactness of their flocks of half a dozen to 15 in their flight is characteristic, and their directness fully equal to that of the green-winged teal. Mr. S. W. Preston (1892) observes: A pleasing characteristic of the species is the manner of flying during nesting time. One may see them chasing round and round some wooded lake, speeding ever with a thrilling impetuosity; uttering a peculiar note as they glide along; then they have darted out into the forest, leaving the beholder pleased with the performance, and none the wiser as to the nest site. I timed one of this species, and it made its mile in less than one minute. Audubon (1840) says: "When migrating, they fly at a great height, in small loose flocks, without any regard to order." Of its swimming and diving habits, Doctor Elliot (1898) says: The movements of this bird upon the water are quick ~d active, and it swims rapidly and dives with great celerity. It is a beautiful object, and few birds surpass the male in attractiveness as lie swims lightly along, elevating and depressing his beautiful crest. If suspicious, this species will sink the body until the water is almost level with the back, and sometimes disappears beneath the surface, apparently with- out effort, as if some unseen hand was pulling it down. When wounded it is one of the most difficult birds to secure and it dives with such quickness, remains under water so long, and skulks and hides with so much skill that it is very apt to make its escape, and always tries the patience of its pursuer, whether dog or man, to the utmost. Their progress under water is extremely rapid, and the wings as well as the feet are used as means of propulsion~ perhaps more dependence being placed upon the wings, and they may be said to fly beneath the surface. The same writer, says of its voice: "It utters a hoarse croak like a small edition of the note of the red-breasted merganser." Audubon (1840) writes: Their notes consist of a kind of rough grunt, variously modulated, but by no means musical, and resembling the syllables "croo, cree, croob." The female repeats it six or seven times in succession, when she sees her young in danger. The same noise is made by the male, either when courting on the water or as he passes on wing near the hole where the female is laying one of her eggs. Fall: A study of the migration records will show that the hooded merganser is not an early migrant in the fall, nor is it the very latest; the main flight comes along during the latter half of October and first half of November; the latest stragglers often linger until frozen out. Audubon (1840) gives an interesting account of its behavior at this season, which I quote, as follows: At the approach o[ night, a person standing still on the hank. of such a river as the Ohio first hears the well-known sound of wings whistling through the air, presently after, a (different noise, as if produced by an eagle stooping on her prey, when gliding downward with the rapidity of an arrow, he dimly perceives the hooded mergansers sweeping past. Five or six, perhaps 10, there are; with quick beats of their pinions, they fly low over the waters in wide circles. Now they have spied the entrance of a creek; there they shoot into it, and in a few seconds you hear the rushing noise which they make as they alight on the bosom of the still pool. How often have I enjoyed such scenes, when enticed abroad by the clear light of the silvery moon, I have wandered on the shores of la belle riviere to indulge in the contemplation of nature! Up the creek the mergansers proceed, washing their bodies by short plunges, and splashing up the water about them. Then they plume themselves, and anoint their feathers, now and then emitting a low grunting note of pleasure. And now they dive in search of minnows, which they find in abundance, and which no doubt prove delicious food to the hungry travelers. At length, having satisfied their appetite, they rise on wing, fly low over the creek with almost incredible velocity, return to the broad stream, rove along its margin until they meet with a clean sand beach, where they alight, and where, secure from danger, they repose until the return of day. A sly raccoon may, when in search of mussels, chance to meet with the sleeping birds, and surprise one of them; but this rarely happens, for they are as wary and vigilant as their enemy is cunning and were the prowler to depend upon the hooded mergansers for food, he would be lean enough. Game: From the sportsman's standpoint this is not an important species. It's a difficult bird to hit on the wing, it is small and its flesh is not particularly attractive to eat; it is often very fat and when it has been feeding on grain or vegetable food its flavor is not bad. It is rather tame and unsuspicious, coming readily to decoys. It is known by a variety of names such as "wood sheldrake," "water pheasant," "hairy crown," etc. Winter: The hooded merganser is resident throughout the year over much of its range, wintering as far north as it can find open water in which it can obtain its food supply. Doctor Hatch (1892) says that, in Minnesota, "they stay as long as the ice will let them on the shores of the lakes, whence they go to open rapids, and late in November mostly drift more southward." Dr. Amos W. Butler (1X97) writes, in regard to Indiana: Throughout the State the hooded merganser may be found in winter, the more numerous the more open the winters, and always attracted to the open water, so that in the most severe winters they are most to be observed on the rapid streams of southern Indiana, where ripples and rapids are about the only places they can find at which to congregate. Although a few migrate beyond our borders, the principal winter home of tile species is in the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, where they frequent tile inland waters, seldom if ever being seen on salt water. Breeding range: Temperate North America, locally. East to western New Brunswick (St. Croix River), eastern New York (Adirondacks and Catskills), central Pennsylvania (Williamsport), and eastern South Carolina (Berkeley County). South to central Florida (Titusvile and Fort Myers), southern Tennessee (near Chattanooga), northeastern Arkansas (Big Lake), northern New Mexico, and north- western Nevada (Truckee River). West to Oregon and northwestern Washington (near Tacoma). North to southeastern Alaska (Stikine River), central British Columbia (Cariboo district), southern Mac- kenzie (Great Slave Lake), northern Manitoba (Churchill), eastern Ontario (Algonquin Park), and perhaps the interior of Labrador. Winter range: Mainly in the Southern States. North to Massa- chusetts, Pennsylvania, Lake Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and southern British Columbia (Comox and Okanagan). South to Cuba and southern Mexico (Orizaba and Jalapa). Spring migration: Early dates of arrival: Iowa, central, March 5; Minnesota, Heron Lake, March 20: Ontario, Ottawa, March 21. Average dates of arrival: New York, western, March 20; Ontario, Ottawa, April 18; Michigan, southern, March 19; Iowa, central, March 22; Minnesota, Heron Lake, April 5. Fall migration: Averagc dates of arrival: New York, western, October 15; Virginia, Alexandria, October 26. Average dates of departure: Quebec, Montreal, October 29; Minnesota, southern, No- vember 10; Iowa, central, November 26. Casual records: Accidental in Bermuda (January 10, 1849, and December 23, 1850), Great Britain (Wales, winter 1830: 31), Ireland (County Cork, December, 1878, and County Kerry, January, 1881), and Alaska (St. Michael, October, 1865). Egg dates: Michigan: Four records, April 22 to May 19. Illinois: Three records, March 15, April 29, and May 5. Iowa: One record, June 5. Montana: Four records, April 27 to May 28. Washington: One record, April 21. Missouri: One record, June 13.
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