I posted this on another site but haven't really got many opinions. So.... this year I was fortunate enough to shoot what I believe is all three types of mergs. Never done that before. But kinda wanted to make sure. The drake I shot this year was shot at close range in the head which unfortunately took it clean off so no pics of the drake. I believe one of the birds shown here may have been an immature red breasted merg but you decide. This was the first year I have seen anything other than hoodies so Im slightly confused.

Hooded Merg....obviously



Common Merg? (white patch under head)



Red Breasted Merg? (hint: red eyes - shot last day of the season)

Could be a red. I think commons have a black belly.. could be wrong. Only shoot a few.

Shit I don't know the only one I know for sure is the hooded. The others look like a hen of the 2 species but it's hard to tell.

Hooded drake
Hooded hen
Common drake

They get so thick up here you get sick of looking at them. I will usually only shoot at the big drakes when it's slow out. Nothing to see 60-100+ in a day. Damn barking ducks, ya can't even eat them.

Hey Goose, send some of them this way! I may see 2 mergs in a season, wanting to kill a hooded merganser for a mount.

Sure it not a red hen?

.

Google red merg hen

I have been told that the one in the second pic is a drake merg. I dont shoot them much so i aint sure of their official name. The ones round here stink.

Quit shootin that BullShit and you won't have this problem.

I believe that's a hen red breasted merganer a.k.a sawbill.

20110328_339-2 - Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)


The red-breasted merganser is the most widespread of the mergansers, a group of fish-eating ducks also known as saw-bills due to their long, narrow, serrated beaks. These slender seabirds are also renowned for their marked sexual dimorphism, with the more elaborately colored male decorated with glossy sheen's of green and blue to attract the somewhat duller female during the breeding season. At this time, the male red-breasted merganser has a dark, metallic-green head with a shaggy, double-pointed crest, a white collar around the neck and, as its common name suggests, a red breast. The upper-parts are otherwise black except for large white patches on the wings, while the bill and legs are a starkly contrasting bright orange-red. Outside of the breeding season, the male has a largely slaty-grey, duller plumage, with a rusty brown head and crest. Year-round the female is similar in appearance to the non-breeding male, but with more white on the chin, a lighter back and smaller white patches on the wing. The mergansers are strong fliers and among the fastest of ducks, capable of achieving speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. When taking off from the water’s surface, they use rapid-wing beats and thrusts of the webbed feet to take to the air, and once airborne, typically fly low and fast.