This is one of the smallest Mergansers and is the only one endemic to North America (Dugger et al. 1994). This species almost never walks and will run across the water surface into flight (Dugger et al. 1994). The Hooded Merganser locates its prey underwater with its sight. It can alter refractive properties in the eyes for better vision. In addition, the nictating membrane is transparent and acts like a pair of ?goggles? underwater (Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2003).
This bird is a regular species of Tennessee and has bred in the state (Tennessee Ornithological Society 2006). In North Carolina, it is a somewhat common winter resident, being more common along the coast (Potter et al. 1980 and Pearson et al. 1942). It is fairly common in migration and winter at Lake Junaluska, Haywood County, just outside the park.

Species Description:
Length: 18 in. (45.75 cm) (Kaufman 2000).

Physical characteristics:
Males have a large, white, wedge-shaped patch on an erect crest. The head, back, and wings are dark black. The white breast is separated from the brown belly by a horizontal, elliptical white patch, bordered with black. The female has a grayish-brown head and a small crest. The body is grayer on the upperparts and browner on the underparts.

Voice:
Usually a silent bird, except during courtship when the male produces a deep rumbling sound (Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2003).

Breeding habitat:
Always breeds near water, including woodlands, lakes, swamps, marshes, and coastal estuaries (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

Mating system:
Monogamous. The male and female have an elaborate display for courtship. The male performs crest raising, lateral head shakes, and head throws. The male gives a deep rumbling call simultaneously with the head throw. The male gives a ?turns-the-back-of-head-display?, then puffs neck and moves head up and down. The female will then join him in mutual drinking. During the drinking, the male tilts his head back and collapses his crest. The female flattens her body to be level with the surface of the water, which indicates her willingness to copulate (Greij 1987).

Nest:
The female builds the nest in a tree cavity near water, usually 15?- 20? above ground. Occasionally it may build in a hollow log, but this is not common. The nest is lined with grasses, leaves, and down (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

Eggs:
The eggs are white with no markings, 2.1? (54 mm). Typically, 10-12 eggs are laid in a clutch and a pair will brood only once in a year (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

Chick development:
The female incubates the eggs for 32-33 days. The hatchlings are born precocial, finding their own food. The female is the only parent that tends to the young, which fledge in 71 days (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

Diet:
It feeds on fish and a variety of aquatic invertebrates. It forages by diving under the surface and swimming underwater to catch prey (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

Conservation Biology:
The Hooded Merganser is under no special protection at this time, but in the distribution map produced by Kaufman (2000), it is listed as rare to find the bird during all seasons. Destruction to wetlands would greatly contribute to the decline of this species.

Breeding: Breeds from southern central Canada to southern eastern Canada, into the northern New England states. Distribution also reaches down into some Midwest states, including Minnesota, Iowa, and northern Missouri, as well as eastern portions of Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota (Kaufman 2000).

Winter: Winters throughout the Southeast and lower Midwest, south to the coastal regions of northern Mexico (Ehrlich et al. 1988). Also winters along the Pacific coast from British Columbia south.

This species is an uncommon migrant and rare summer resident, usually sighted in Cades Cove (Alsop 2003). They have been spotted in other areas such as the Little River, Elkmont pond (Stupka 1963), Twentymile Creek, and the Forney Creek Embayment (Park Observations), from December through the end of March.

References:

Alsop, F. J. 1991. Birds Of The Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association. Gatlinburg, TN.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2003. Available at All About Birds: Hooded Merganser. Accessed on March 31, 2006.

Dugger, B. D., K. M. Dugger, and L. H. Fredrickson. 1994. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 98 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder?s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc. New York.

Greij, E. D. 1987. Photo Essay: The Hooded Merganser. Birder?s World. May/June Issue, p. 18-21.

Kaufman, K. 2000. Birds of North America. Hillstar Editions L. C. New York.

LeGrand, H. E. and Hall, S. P., compilers. 1999. Natural Heritage Program List of the Rare Animals of North Carolina. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Division of Parks and Recreation, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Reso

Pearson, T. G., C. S. Brimley, and H. H. Brimley. 1942. Birds of North Carolina. Bynum Printing Company, Raleigh, NC.

Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the Birds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Tennessee Ornithological Society. 2006. Available at The Official Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee. Accessed on March 31, 2006.