Home/Species/ Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Hooded Merganser

G5Secure Found in 124 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104711

Element CodeABNJB20010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassAves

OrderAnseriformes

FamilyAnatidae

GenusLophodytes

Other Common Names

Harle couronné (FR) hooded merganser (EN) Mergo Cresta Blanca (ES)

Concept Reference

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-04-09

Change Date1996-11-21

Edition Date1995-05-04

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences81 to >300

Rank Reasons

Secure due primarily to large range; uncommon.

Range Extent Comments

BREEDS: southeastern Alaska, central British Columbia, and southwestern Alberta south to southwestern Oregon, central Idaho, and northwestern Montana; and from central Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia, south to southeastern Kansas, northern Louisiana, northern Georgia, and (rarely) Florida. WINTERS: along Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf slopes, mainly from southeastern Alaska to northern Baja California, and New England to Florida and west to northern Mexico, irregularly in the interior of southern Canada and the U.S., and in the northern Bahamas and Greater Antilles (AOU 1983); rare in Hawaii.

Threat Impact Comments

Vulnerable to forestry practices that limit or eliminate potential nesting sites.

Ecology & Habitat

Description

A small (length 46 cm) duck with a thin serrated bill and a puffy crest; adult male has a black head with a large white patch on each side, a dark back, brown flanks, and a white chest with two black bars on each side; adult female is brownish overall, with a yellowish lower mandible; first winter male resembles female; in flight, both sexes show black-and-white inner secondaries (Peterson 1980, NGS 1983).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from other mergansers in being smaller, having white head patches (males), and by lacking a red bill. Differs from the bufflehead in lacking white sides.

Habitat

Streams, lakes, swamps, marshes, and estuaries; winters mostly in freshwater but also regularly in estuaries and sheltered bays (AOU 1983).

Nests usually in tree cavities in forested regions near water, often near fast-flowing streams (AOU 1983), also forest ponds and lakes, flooded forest, riverside swamps. See Zicus (1990) for information on successful use of nest boxes in Minnesota.

Reproduction

Clutch size is 6-18 (some nests may include eggs of wood duck or goldeneye in some areas). Incubation lasts 29-37 days, by female. Young first fly at estimated age of 10 weeks. First breeds at about 2 years (Terres 1980, Palmer 1976). Nesting is dispersed; in Minnesota, installation of nest boxes produced a nesting density of about 0.4 nests per sq km (Zicus 1990).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - Mixed

Palustrine Habitats

HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5B,N5N

Province	Rank	Native
Quebec	S4B	Yes
British Columbia	S5	Yes
Nunavut	S1B	Yes
Alberta	S4B	Yes
Nova Scotia	S5B	Yes
Northwest Territories	S3	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	SUB	Yes
Manitoba	S5B	Yes
Yukon Territory	SUB,S3M	Yes
New Brunswick	S4B,S5M	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Saskatchewan	S4B	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S1B,S4M	Yes
Labrador	S2B,S3M	Yes

United StatesN5B,N5N

Province	Rank	Native
Oregon	S4	Yes
Navajo Nation	S2N	Yes
Arkansas	S2B,S5N	Yes
Nevada	S3N	Yes
Georgia	S5	Yes
Kentucky	S2B,S3N	Yes
Indiana	S2B	Yes
Wyoming	SHB	Yes
Minnesota	SNRB,SNRN	Yes
Connecticut	S3B	Yes
Iowa	S2B,S3N	Yes
Oklahoma	S3N	Yes
Colorado	SNA	Yes
Michigan	S3	Yes
Alabama	S3B,S5N	Yes
Utah	S3N	Yes
Tennessee	S4N	Yes
Pennsylvania	S4B	Yes
New Jersey	S3B,S4N	Yes
Kansas	S1B,S2N	Yes
Mississippi	S2B,S5N	Yes
Montana	S4	Yes
North Dakota	S3	Yes
Ohio	S2	Yes
Missouri	SNRB,SNRN	Yes
Wisconsin	S5B	Yes
Alaska	S3B	Yes
Vermont	S4B	Yes
South Dakota	S2B	Yes
Illinois	S2	Yes
Delaware	S1B,S4N	Yes
Louisiana	S4	Yes
Rhode Island	S1B	Yes
Maryland	S3B	Yes
North Carolina	S1B,S4N	Yes
Virginia	S4N	Yes
South Carolina	S5	Yes
District of Columbia	S3N	Yes
Maine	S5	Yes
New York	S4	Yes
West Virginia	S1B,S4N	Yes
Washington	S3N,S4B	Yes
New Hampshire	S5	Yes
Arizona	S2N	Yes
Florida	SNRN	Yes
Texas	S4N,S3B	Yes
Nebraska	SNRN	Yes
Massachusetts	S4B,S5N	Yes
Idaho	S4N,S4B	Yes
New Mexico	S4N	Yes
California	SNRB,SNRN	Yes

Roadless Areas (124)

Alaska (11)

Area	Forest	Acres
Douglas Island	Tongass National Forest	28,065
Hyder	Tongass National Forest	121,723
North Baranof	Tongass National Forest	314,089
North Revilla	Tongass National Forest	215,430
Port Alexander	Tongass National Forest	120,681
Redoubt	Tongass National Forest	68,347
Revilla	Tongass National Forest	29,298
Sitka Urban	Tongass National Forest	112,003
Taku-Snettisham	Tongass National Forest	664,928
Upper Situk	Tongass National Forest	16,789
Yakutat Forelands	Tongass National Forest	323,648

Arizona (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Black Canyon	Prescott National Forest	10,683
Butterfly Roadless Area	Coronado National Forest	42,296
Pinaleno	Coronado National Forest	130,920
Tumacacori	Coronado National Forest	44,594

Arkansas (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Brush Heap	Ouachita National Forest	4,205
Dismal Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	9,160

California (25)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Mountain	Los Padres National Forest	913
Bell Quinby	Shasta-Trinity National Forest	11,556
Big Canyon	Modoc National Forest	6,615
Cajon	San Bernardino National Forest	7,548
Channell	Sequoia National Forest	45,429
Chico	Sequoia National Forest	39,836
City Creek	San Bernardino National Forest	9,997
Cow Creek	Shasta-Trinity National Forest	22,627
Deep Creek	San Bernardino National Forest	23,869
Dry Lakes	Los Padres National Forest	17,043
Excelsior (CA)	Inyo National Forest	45,607
Ferguson Ridge	Sierra National Forest	6,104
Granite Chief	Tahoe National Forest	6,546
Greenhorn Creek	Sequoia National Forest	28,226
Horse Mdw.	Inyo National Forest	5,687
Little French C	Shasta-Trinity National Forest	11,529
Magic Mountain	Angeles National Forest	15,542
Malduce Buckhorn	Los Padres National Forest	14,177
Mystic (CA)	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	836
Orleans Mtn. B	Six Rivers National Forest	17,183
Portuguese	Klamath National Forest	18,915
Pyramid	Eldorado National Forest	24,347
Salt Creek	Angeles National Forest	11,022
Timbered Crater	Lassen National Forest	4,096
Trumbull Peak	Stanislaus National Forest	6,164

Georgia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Kelly Ridge	Chattahoochee National Forest	8,325

Idaho (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582
Hoodoo	Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest	153,868

Minnesota (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hegman Lakes	Superior National Forest	675
Little Indian Sioux	Superior National Forest	996

Montana (9)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - Swan	Lolo National Forest	118,485
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - Swan	Lewis and Clark National Forest	344,022
Bmss Ra 1485	Flathead National Forest	334,275
Buckhorn Ridge (MT)	Kootenai National Forest	34,716
Cabinet Face East #671	Kootenai National Forest	50,326
Cube Iron - Silcox	Lolo National Forest	36,998
Scotchman Peaks (MT)	Kootenai National Forest	53,909
Selway - Bitterroot (01067)	Bitterroot National Forest	114,953
West Big Hole	Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest	133,563

Nevada (8)

Area	Forest	Acres
Four Mile	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	24,093
Mystic (NV)	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	5,644
Rose - Big Meadows	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	311
Rose - Davis Mdw.	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	2,361
Rose - Dutch Louie	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	363
Rose - Evans	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	4,782
Rose - Verdi	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	1,155
Table Mtn. - East	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	87,789

New Hampshire (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Carr Mountain	White Mountain National Forest	17,110
Pemigewasset	White Mountain National Forest	32,255
Sandwich Range	White Mountain National Forest	16,797

New Mexico (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold Wilderness	Gila National Forest	111,883
Meadow Creek	Gila National Forest	34,167
Nichols Reservoir	Santa Fe National Forest	1,518

North Carolina (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Craggy Mountain	Pisgah National Forest	2,657

Oregon (14)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hebo 1a	Siuslaw National Forest	13,930
Hellhole	Umatilla National Forest	65,679
Hurricane Creek	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	1,606
Mt. Jefferson	Deschutes National Forest	2,282
Mt. Bailey	Umpqua National Forest	18,401
Mt. Hood Additions	Mt. Hood National Forest	13,061
North Paulina	Deschutes National Forest	19,670
Salmon - Huckleberry	Mt. Hood National Forest	17,570
Sky Lakes A	Winema National Forest	3,940
South Paulina	Deschutes National Forest	9,074
Tahkenitch	Siuslaw National Forest	5,799
Tenmile	Siuslaw National Forest	10,818
Umpqua Spit	Siuslaw National Forest	2,090
Woahink	Siuslaw National Forest	5,309

Pennsylvania (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Tracy Ridge	Allegheny National Forest	9,034

South Dakota (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Indian Creek	Buffalo Gap National Grassland	24,666

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447

Utah (9)

Area	Forest	Acres
Boulder Mountain	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	8,852
Mahogany Range	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	11,409
Mt. Logan North	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	18,930
Mt. Logan South	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	17,014
Mt. Logan West	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	5,285
Mt. Naomi	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	41,922
North Francis	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	8,148
Right Hand Fork Logan	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	15,023
Wellsville	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	1,717

Vermont (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bread Loaf	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	1,768

Virginia (8)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Jefferson National Forest	18,274
Garden Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	3,960
Kelley Mountain	George Washington National Forest	7,590
Little Walker Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	9,818
Mill Mountain	George Washington National Forest	10,840
North Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	8,377
Oliver Mountain	George Washington National Forest	13,090
Peters Mountain Addition B	Jefferson National Forest	2,909

Washington (11)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bangs	Colville National Forest	3,746
Grassy Top	Idaho Panhandle National Forests	13,485
Grassy Top	Colville National Forest	10,302
Jupiter Ridge	Olympic National Forest	10,148
Mt. Baker Noisy - Diobsud	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	56,039
Mt. Baker North	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	16,873
Mt. Bonaparte	Okanogan National Forest	10,891
Quilcene	Olympic National Forest	18,656
South Quinault	Olympic National Forest	11,081
Taneum	Wenatchee National Forest	26,140
Thorp Mtn.	Wenatchee National Forest	22,717

West Virginia (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Cranberry Addition	Monongahela National Forest	11,123
Dolly Sods Roaring Plain	Monongahela National Forest	13,392
Falls Of Hills Creek	Monongahela National Forest	6,925
Middle Mountain	Monongahela National Forest	19,020

Wyoming (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Sheep Mountain	Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest	17,626
Sheridan Pass	Shoshone National Forest	8,394
Spread Creek - Gros Ventre River	Bridger-Teton National Forest	166,097

References (22)

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Bellrose, F. C. 1980. Ducks, geese and swans of North America. 3rd edition. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 540 pp.
BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
Eadie, J. M., L.-P. L. Savard, and M. L. Mallory. 2000 Barrow's Goldeneye (BUCEPHALA ISLANDICA). No. 548 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
Grand, J.B., and P.L. Flint. 1997. Productivity of nesting Spectacled Eiders on the lower Kashunuk River, Alaska. Condor 100:926-932.
Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Jones, H. L., P. Balderamos, J. Caulfield, A. Caulfield, G. Crawford, T. M. Donegan, E. McRae, M. Meadows, M. Muschamp, P. Saqui, V. Spek, J. Urbina, and B. Zimmer. 2002. Fourteen new bird species for Belize. Cotinga 17:33-42.
National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
Palmer, R. S., editor. 1976. Handbook of North American birds. Vol. 3. Waterfowl (concluded). Eiders, wood ducks,diving ducks, mergansers, stifftails. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven. 560 pp.
Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Peterson, R. T. 1980a. A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies. Houghton Mifflin Company. 383 pp.
Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
Reed, A. 1975. Migration, homing, and mortality of breeding female eiders SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA DRESSERI of the St. Lawrence estuary, Quebec. Ornis Scand. 6:41-47.
Rojas-Soto, O. R. and A. de A. Bocanegra. 2003. Record of the Hooded Merganser (<i>Lophodytes cucullatus</i>) in "Los Petenes", northwestern Campeche, México. Ornitologia Neotropical 13:85-86.
Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Swennen, C. 1990. Dispersal and migratory movements of eiders SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA breeding in the Netherlands. Ornis Scand. 21:17-27.
Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
van de Wetering, D. 1997. Moult characteristics and habitat selection of post-breeding male Barrow's Goldeneye (BUCEPHALA ISLANDICA) in northern Yukon. Technical Report Series No. 296, Canadian Wildlife Service, Quebec Region.
Wakeley, J. S., and H. L. Mendall. 1976. Migrational homing and survival of adult female eiders in Maine. Journal of Wildlife Management 40:15-21.
Zicus, M. C. 1990. Nesting biology of hooded mergansers using nest boxes. J. Wildl. Manage. 54:637-643.