Common Merganser Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesCommon Merganser
Male (North American)
Large duck with long body and long, straight bill. Mostly white, with green head and orange-red bill.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, January 26, 2013Female (North American)
Female is mostly gray with a reddish-brown head. Note the shaggy crest, white chin patch, and sharp break between the reddish-brown head and whitish upper breast.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 02, 2017Males with Mallards
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, March 11, 2015Male and female (North American)
In North America, both sexes have dark outer wings with white patch on secondary flight feathers. Male also shows white on leading edge of wing.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 04, 2016Male (Eurasian)
In Europe and Asia, Common Merganser is known by the common name Goosander. Male Goosander has a darker, blood-red bill, and in flight shows a pure white wing patch (North American male's wing patch is interrupted by a thin black bar).
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryBayern, November 03, 2012Female with juveniles
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, June 02, 2015Male and female (Eurasian)
Male typically abandons the nest during incubation, leaving the female to care for ducklings on her own.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibraryBayern, May 14, 2010Female (Eurasian)
Large duck with long, slender bill. Warm reddish head has ragged crest, white chin, and sharp border with white chest.
© Nigel Voaden / Macaulay LibraryEngland, January 28, 2017Female and chick (North American)
Female has gray body contrasting with cinnamon-red, crested head. May be seen with large numbers of ducklings in summer.
© Kenneth Pinnow / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, May 12, 2017Immature male (North American)
Immature male shows a mix of female and adult male features.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, June 09, 2011Females/nonbreeding males
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, November 13, 2014Male and female (North American)
Fairly common on freshwater, especially rivers. Often rests on boulders or logs in midstream.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 05, 2017Immature (North American)
Similar to female, but with reduced crest, lighter head color, more extensive white on face, and thin brownish line extending from base of bill onto face.
© Simon Boivin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, November 07, 2020Female (North American)
Typically nests in a natural cavity or woodpecker hole in a live or dead tree.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 31, 2016Male and female (North American)
Fairly common along freshwater lakes and rivers; rarer in saltwater or brackish water.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 02, 2016Similar SpeciesRed-breasted Merganser
Breeding male
Male Red-breasted Mergansers have a cinnamon breast while male Common Mergansers have a white breast. Males also have grayish (not white) sides.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, March 04, 2014Similar SpeciesRed-breasted Merganser
Female/nonbreeding male
Females/nonbreeding male Red-breasted Mergansers have less white on the chest than female Common Mergansers. They also do not have a white spot below the bill that is visible on female/nonbreeding male Common Mergansers.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, February 20, 2014Similar SpeciesHooded Merganser
Adult male
Hooded Mergansers are smaller than Common Mergansers with a shorter black bill. Males have a large white patch on the head that Common Mergansers lack.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, November 24, 2015Similar SpeciesHooded Merganser
Nonbreeding male
Female/nonbreeding male Hooded Mergansers are smaller and browner than Common Mergansers with darker bills and shaggier crests.
© Amanda Guercio / Macaulay LibraryOntario, February 12, 2012Similar SpeciesCommon Goldeneye
Female
Common Goldeneyes are smaller than Common Merganser with a shorter and wider bill. Females lack the female Common Merganser's shaggy crest.
© Patrick J. Blake / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 02, 2017Similar SpeciesBarrow's Goldeneye
Female
Barrow's Goldeneyes are smaller than Common Merganser with a shorter and wider bill. They also have a yellow eye, whereas female Common Mergansers have a dark eye.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 22, 2008Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)
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