Hooded Mergansers have a serrated bill perfectly adapted for catching fish — the smallest of the three North American mergansers.
Like Wood Ducks, ducklings leap from high cavity entrances within a day of hatching.
Females sometimes lay eggs in Wood Duck nests and vice-versa, a phenomenon called 'brood parasitism' or 'egg dumping'.
Hooded Mergansers will use Wood Duck-style nest boxes if you have suitable wooded wetland nearby.
Mount a Wood Duck box on a pole over or beside water, with wood shavings inside.
Small fish, crayfish, and aquatic insects — they catch their own.
Clear forested wetland with fish.
They share boxes with Wood Ducks; both species often coexist.
Don't mount in murky agricultural ponds; they need clear water for sight-feeding.
A North American cavity-nesting fish-eating duck of forested wetlands.
Breeds across the boreal forest belt and northern US.
Resident in suitable wetlands of the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic.
Massive winter flocks throughout the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast.
Wooded swamps, beaver ponds, slow rivers, and forested edges of lakes. Always near clear water with fish.
Same setup as Wood Duck box but slightly smaller floor. Female lines nest with downy feathers.