I can never settle on the best way to describe the Hooded Merganser. You know the old saying, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.” Well, mergansers looks a lot like a duck and swims like a duck, but that’s where it stops. Mergansers, there are three types in Maine, specialize in diving and catching fish. Hooded Mergansers, the smallest Merganser of the three, catch and eat fish, crayfish, and aquatic insects. Instead of the broad, flat bill of a duck, they have a long narrow bill with a little downward hook at the end that helps them catch their slippery prey. Hooded Mergansers don’t really quack like a duck either. The males make a non-duck like groans and growls that is not something I expect to hear from birds. It’s odd.

Male Hooded Mergansers are striking. They have a crest they can raise into a “hood” that is white and rimmed in black. It has yellow eyes. Its breast is white with two black streaks, sometimes referred to as spurs. Its back is black with white streaks. Its sides are a cinnamon brown. The females, like many other birds, are less dramatic with a cinnamon crest and shades of brown over most of the body.

Although Hooded Mergansers seem most at home in the water, they nest in tree cavities. They will also use rock crevices and Wood Duck boxes, as well. They prefer to nest close to water.

Red-breasted Mergansers can be seen along Maine’s coasts and bays. Common Mergansers can be seen on our larger lakes. The smaller Hooded Mergansers, however, prefer wetland areas, especially flooded forest. I expect to find them in areas where beavers are active.

We see Hooded Mergansers at Valentine Farm every spring and early summer. There is habitat that should work for their nests, and more recently, we have put up nest boxes which we hope they or Wood Ducks will find and use.

As you hike area trails, especially those that have the right habitat, watch for this shy and beautiful bird. Don’t expect it to quack like a duck though.

James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to info@mahoosuc.org.