Mittelsäger

Bestimmung

The adult red-breasted merganser is 51–64 cm (20–25 in) long, has a wingspan of 66–74 cm (26–29 in), and weighs 800–1,350 g (28–48 oz).<p>It has a spiky crest and long thin red bill with serrated edges. The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a white neck with a rusty breast, a black back, and white underparts. Adult females have a rusty head and a grayish body. Juveniles look similar to females, but lack the white collar and have smaller white wing patches.<p>The range of the red-breasted merganser broadly overlaps with that of the similar and closely related common merganser. The two species can therefore occur in the same place at the same time, though the species often choose different habitats (only the red-breasted frequents saltwater). Breeding male plumages are fairly distinctive, but other plumages such as those born by females, immatures, and non-breeding males can make the two species hard to distinguish. The common merganser displays more contrast between the darker head and lighter breast and has a light chin patch not seen on the red-breasted.<p>During courtship, the female gives a rasping prrak prrak, while the male gives a catlike meow. In flight, the female makes a harsh gruk. At other times this species is largely silent.

Taxonomie

Gattung: Mergus; Familie: Anatidae; Ordnung: Anseriformes.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Mergus serrator

Autorität

Linnaeus, 1758

Ordnung

Gänsevögel

Familie

Entenvögel (Anatidae)

Gattung

Mergus

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

Breeding range: NA, PAL : s Greenland, Iceland, n British Isles, Scandinavia to Sakhalin and Kamchatka pens., and Kuril and Commander is. (se Russia), s through n Kazakhstan and ne China; w Alaska mainland through mainland Canada from Arctic to n Great Lakes and e to Nova Scotia. Non-breeding range: to coasts of s Europe (e North Atlantic), Black and Caspian seas; Japan, Korean Pen. and e China (w North Pacific); to wc Mexico (e North Pacific), Gulf Coast and Florida (w North Atlantic).

Brutgebiet

NA, PAL : s Greenland, Iceland, n British Isles, Scandinavia to Sakhalin and Kamchatka pens., and Kuril and Commander is. (se Russia), s through n Kazakhstan and ne China; w Alaska mainland through mainland Canada from Arctic to n Great Lakes and e to Nova Scotia

Überwinterungsgebiet

to coasts of s Europe (e North Atlantic), Black and Caspian seas; Japan, Korean Pen. and e China (w North Pacific); to wc Mexico (e North Pacific), Gulf Coast and Florida (w North Atlantic)

Zugverhalten

Vollzieher

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Vollzieher.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: stabil.

Bestandstrend

stabil