Red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted merganser Temporal range: Pleistocene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Male in winter at New Jersey, United States
Female, New York, United States
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Mergus
Species:	M. serrator
Binomial name
Mergus serrator Linnaeus, 1758
Red-breasted merganser range   Breeding   Resident   Non-breeding   Passage
Synonyms
Merganser serrator (Linnaeus, 1758)

The red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) is a duck species that is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere. The red breast that gives the species its common name is only displayed by males in breeding plumage. Individuals fly rapidly, and feed by diving from the surface to pursue aquatic animals underwater, using serrated bills to capture slippery fish. They migrate each year from breeding sites on lakes and rivers to their mostly coastal wintering areas, making them the only species in the genus Mergus to frequent saltwater. They form flocks outside of breeding season that are usually small but can reach 100 individuals. The worldwide population of this species is stable, though it is threatened in some areas by habitat loss and other factors.