The merganser duck is a taiga inhabitant. The waterfowl is called toothy. The beak of mergansers is adapted for catching fish in their habitats - fresh and salted lakes and rivers. Mergansers are divided into three types: large, medium and small. The population of the most common, the great merganser, is stable. But other species of birds are rare birds and are protected.
Origin of the species and description
The genus Merganser belongs to the Anatidae family of the Anseriformes order. External characteristics of the great merganser:
- body length - 66 centimeters;
- average weight - 1 kilogram;
- wingspan - 97 centimeters;
- the serrated beak is pointed and curved down at the end.
On the outer side of the birds' outstretched wings is an extensive white marking, or "mirror".
Mergansers are characterized by sexual and age demorphism:
- male (drake) - the body is black, gray and white, the head and neck are black, with a dark green shiny tint, and the beak is red. In autumn the green tint disappears. The beak and eye on both sides of the heads are separated by a light stripe;
- the female (duck) is gray and white, with a dark red head and neck. The strip of light feathers on the head is missing;
- young animals are gray-brown, with a dark head and white throat.
The medium-sized, or long-nosed, merganser is smaller than its large relative. The bird's body does not exceed fifty centimeters in length. The wingspan is 67-86 centimeters. The back of the head of males is decorated with a double crest during the mating season. The plumage is distinguished by a red and white color on the chest, as well as a brown crop and red legs.
The Lesser Merganser reaches a length of forty-four centimeters and weighs 680-935 grams. Black and white males are larger than motley females. In terms of external features, the bird is similar to goldeneyes and mergansers, but is classified as a separate genus Lutkov. Also distinguished are scaly, Brazilian and crested mergansers, which are less common than other species.
The merganser is divided into several subspecies, which are distinguished from each other and from other species by the wavy gray pattern on the wings and the territory of distribution.
Habitat of the merganser duck
Toothed ducks are migratory and partially migratory birds.They live in northern latitudes, and for the winter migrate to the subtropics, to sea coasts, and also settle near reservoirs in temperate climates.
| Kinds | Subspecies | Area | Wintering |
| Big | North of Denmark and Scandinavia, Alps, Great Britain, Iceland, Poland, Belarus.
Kola Peninsula, Yamal, Yenisei, Vilyui, Lena rivers, Kolyma Range, northern Chukotka, western Siberia, southern Alaska, Quebec, Newfoundland |
Baltic, Northern, Black, Caspian Sea, Central, Southern Europe, Central Asia, Japan, Korea, China | |
| Holarctic | Forest-tundra and taiga of the western and eastern hemispheres | ||
| Nominative | Iceland, northeast China, northern Japan | ||
| Central Asian
|
Territories from northeastern Afghanistan to western China, Tibet, Himalayas. | ||
| Average | North America, Eurasia, northern regions, tundra, forest-steppe zone | Moves to the sea in subtropical and temperate climates | |
| Small | The northern border of the range covers the taiga, forest-tundra of Scandinavia, Kamchatka, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin, the Shantar Islands and Hokkaido, northern Sweden and Norway, the Yenisei, Indigirka, and Kolyma rivers.
The southern border passes through Finland, the upper reaches of the Lena and Sakmara rivers. Found in Romania, the Urals, on the Black Irtysh River |
Temperate, southern latitudes, boundaries of ice fields.
Wadden Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Pakistan, southern France, England, and sometimes water bodies of central Europe. North Africa: center of Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt. |
|
| Scaly | Primorsky Territory, south of Khabarovsk Territory along the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, Changbai Mountains on the border of China and Korea and in the Lesser Khingan mountains | South Korea and China |
The number of migrating mergansers changes every year. During mild winters, part of the population remains on the nesting grounds.Other flocks move short distances and do not reach the southern regions. In addition to sea coasts, birds winter on lakes with fast currents, in lagoons and widening estuaries of rivers flowing into the sea.
Mergansers fly away in late autumn or early winter, when the water freezes, and return in early spring, during the first thaw.
What does a bird eat?
Merganser diet:
- fish;
- crustaceans;
- aquatic insects;
- worms
The scaly merganser is a carnivorous bird. Lutok feeds on fish only in winter and early spring; the rest of the time it does not neglect plants. Ducks eat trout, salmon, eel, grayling, roach, barb and pike. They also feed on herring and sea fish. The type of food depends on the nesting or wintering location.
To catch fish, mergansers lower their heads under the water and mark a target. The birds dive completely, grab the fish with their beaks and emerge. They swim underwater with their paws. Thanks to the teeth, the fish does not slip out of the beak. During migration, mergansers engage in general fishing, similar to synchronized swimming. Birds swim in a flock across the lake, and then dive at the same time.
Character and lifestyle
Merganser ducks swim, dive and fly well. Birds live solitary lives, spend the entire day on the water and do not come into contact with other birds. They aggressively protect their offspring. Migratory mergansers live up to ten years. Birds that lead a partially migratory lifestyle live up to fifteen years, and sedentary birds live up to seventeen. Duck nesting sites:
- lakes with a water surface clear of vegetation;
- reservoirs;
- upper fast currents of rivers.
Birds usually inhabit the tree-shaded banks of large bodies of water. To take off, they require a lot of acceleration on the water.The large merganser chooses foothill reservoirs and hills. Scaly-tailed mergansers nest in hollows of coastal trees. Small lutki take off from the water more easily, so they prefer to settle in bodies of water with coastal vegetation.
Social structure and reproduction
The age of sexual maturity of mergansers is 2 years. Birds return from wintering after forming pairs. Behavior of the male during the mating season:
- wings lowered to the water;
- the tail is directed upward;
- sharply tilts and raises his head;
- flaps its wings, rises above the water;
- flies up, presses its red beak to its chest.
Showing males call females with their voice. A long-nosed drake croaks protractedly, and the duck responds with a short “gro” sound. The male loot rarely makes a crackling sound, reminiscent of croaking. During the mating season and during the raising of chicks, female mergansers are recognized by their hoarse croaking and monosyllabic call.
Several pairs of birds coexist on one section of a river or lake. Finding a place for a nest and raising chicks are the responsibilities of females.
Birds settle at a distance of a kilometer from the water and nest in the following places:
- natural openings in tree trunks and stumps;
- woodpecker cavities in coastal willows, aspens, elms and alders;
- cracks in rocks;
- crevices between large stones;
- abandoned buildings;
- rarely in grass, at the roots of bushes.
Ducks lay eggs on wooden debris or cover the bottom of the nest with down and feathers. As soon as the female lays eggs, the male leaves her. Rarely does it remain until the chicks hatch. Drakes live alone and rarely gather in groups to molt. Merganser eggs are white or yellow-cream, without dots or patterns. The average number in a clutch is 11. Hatching duration is 30 days.Ducks get their own food. Before leaving to feed, the birds cover their eggs with down.
Females raise their own chicks and offspring if their neighbors die from predators or abandon the clutches. One duck can raise 75 chicks.
Hatched ducklings are covered with two-colored down - dark on the back and light on the belly. They first jump out of the nest on the second day after birth, follow their mother to the water and learn to get food - insects that live on the surface of the reservoir. Mother duck rolls ducklings on her back. At ten days of age, the cubs try animal food - fry. Gradually the chicks become independent. Hardy ducklings escape predators by moving quickly through the water. The babies distract enemies by playing dead to give the mother duck time to escape. At two months they begin to fly.
Natural enemies
Predators that hunt mergansers:
- fox;
- raccoon dog;
- otter;
- mink;
- marten.
Ground-dwelling forest dwellers attack adult ducks, find their nests and eat their eggs. Danger from the air is represented by a hawk, an eagle owl, and an eagle. Snakes also hunt for chicks and eggs.
Population and species status
As of 2014, the total population of the rare scaly merganser was 5,000 individuals. 85 percent of the world's population lives in Russia. The population of long-nosed and great mergansers is not in danger. The Auckland variety of tooth-toothed duck, which lived in New Zealand, is now lost. Cats and pigs are to blame for the extermination of birds. The fate of their New Zealand relatives may also befall the Brazilian population.
Protection of merganser ducks
Reasons for the decline in the number of birds:
- clearing old forests along the banks of valley rivers;
- shooting;
- fishing with nets;
- construction of dams;
- water pollution.
The protection of the great toothed duck is regulated by European environmental conventions and red books. In Russia, hunting for scaly merganser is prohibited, but shooting loot is allowed. To preserve species diversity, annual monitoring of the number of ducks and factors affecting their life activity and migration is carried out. The birds are protected in nature reserves.
