Species names in all available languages
| Language | Common name |
|---|---|
| Albanian | Zhytësi i mesëm |
| Arabic | بلقشة شائعة |
| Armenian | Մեծ սղոցակտուց բադ |
| Assamese | কঁকিলাদৰিয়া হাঁহ |
| Asturian | Merguyu grande |
| Azerbaijani | Böyük pazdimdik |
| Basque | Zerra handia |
| Bulgarian | Голям нирец |
| Catalan | bec de serra gros |
| Chinese | 川秋沙 |
| Chinese (SIM) | 普通秋沙鸭 |
| Croatian | veliki ronac |
| Czech | morčák velký |
| Danish | Stor Skallesluger |
| Dutch | Grote Zaagbek |
| English | Common Merganser |
| English (UK) | Goosander |
| English (United States) | Common Merganser |
| Faroese | Tannont |
| Finnish | isokoskelo |
| French | Grand Harle |
| French (France) | Grand Harle |
| Galician | Mergo grande |
| German | Gänsesäger |
| Greek | Χηνοπρίστης |
| Hebrew | מרגון גדול |
| Hungarian | Nagy bukó |
| Icelandic | Gulönd |
| Italian | Smergo maggiore |
| Japanese | カワアイサ |
| Korean | 비오리 |
| Latvian | Lielā gaura |
| Lithuanian | Didysis dančiasnapis |
| Mongolian | Хумхин бохио |
| Norwegian | laksand |
| Persian | مرگوس بزرگ |
| Polish | nurogęś |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Merganso-grande |
| Romanian | Ferestraș mare |
| Russian | Большой крохаль |
| Serbian | Veliki ronac |
| Slovak | potápač veľký |
| Slovenian | Veliki žagar |
| Spanish | Serreta Grande |
| Spanish (Mexico) | Mergo Mayor |
| Spanish (Spain) | Serreta grande |
| Swedish | storskrake |
| Turkish | Büyük Tarakdiş |
| Ukrainian | Крех великий |
Mergus merganser Linnaeus, 1758
Definitions
- MERGUS
- merganser
- Merganser
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Common Merganser Mergus merganser Scientific name definitions
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Photos from this Account
Male (North American)
Large duck with long body and long, straight bill. Mostly white, with green head and orange-red bill.
Female (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.
Male 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.
Male (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).
Male and female (Eurasian)
Male typically abandons the nest during incubation, leaving the female to care for ducklings on her own.
Female (Eurasian)
Large duck with long, slender bill. Warm reddish head has ragged crest, white chin, and sharp border with white chest.
Female and chick (North American)
Female has gray body contrasting with cinnamon-red, crested head. May be seen with large numbers of ducklings in summer.
Immature male (North American)
Immature male shows a mix of female and adult male features.
Male and female (North American)
Fairly common on freshwater, especially rivers. Often rests on boulders or logs in midstream.
Immature (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.
Female (North American)
Typically nests in a natural cavity or woodpecker hole in a live or dead tree.
Male and female (North American)
Fairly common along freshwater lakes and rivers; rarer in saltwater or brackish water.
Adult male Common Merganser in flight, Calgary, AB, 12 April.
Usually patters across water for several meters before taking flight. In flight, both sexes show large white patches on the upperwings. These patches are larger in adult males. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Tim J. Hopwood.
Adult male Common Merganser, Edmonton, AB, 22 April.
A large, long-bodied, thin-billed duck. Adult males are striking, with white bodies and dark, iridescent-green heads. The back is black and the bill red. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Raymond Lee.
Adult female Common Merganser with young; Porpoise Bay, BC; June.
Breeding females often seen with large groups of chicks in tow. Taken 14 June, 2012 at Porpoise Bay, British Columbia, Canada. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Penny Hall.
Adult female Common Merganser with young, Edmonton, AB, 20 June.
Female shows dark chestnut head with white chin patch, and chicks show dark bodies and chestnut crowns with contrasting white throats. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Raymond Lee.
Adult male Common Merganser in flight, Newark, DE, 9 February.
In flight, holds head, belly, and legs in flat line (said to resemble a “lawn dart”). When in flight, wing arc is shallow and extends only slightly below plane of body. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Greg Obierek.
Adult male Common Merganser displaying. Tompkins County, New York. February.
, Feb 10, 2007; photographer Gerrit Vyn
Adult female Common Merganser; Asbury, Warren Co., NJ; March.
Taken 5 March, 2012 in Asbury, Warren County, New Jersey. The following is a link to this contributor's image via Birdshare: Kurt Hasselman.
Common Merganser nest.
Common Merganser. 10 mi E of Tillamook, Oregon. 16 Apr 1960 (nest); photographer WFVZ
Common Merganser eggs.
Common Merganser. 10 mi E of Tillamook, Oregon. 16 Apr 1960 (eggs); photographer WFVZ
Macaulay Library Photos for Common Merganser
Top-rated photos submitted to the Macaulay Library via eBird. Note: Our content editors have not confirmed the species identification for these photos.
