Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

Length: 16-19"(40-48 cm). Description: A small diving, fish-eating duck with a long slender bill. Males: a large black crest/hood with a white patch, a white breast with black stripes,  chestnut colored sides, and flanks, black upperparts. Long black slender bill and a bright yellow iris  (see image here). Females: cinnamon with a backward slanted crest that can be raised or lowered, dusky brown backs with gray chests and sides, a black upper bill edged with orange and the lower part yellow, the eyes are brown and the feet are green.

Habitat: Ponds, lakes; 

Status: Extremely rare.

Number of times recorded on the island: 2 (2006, 2018) 

Comments: Breeds mainly in southeastern Canada, nests in the cavity of trees.

 

A diving duck, a long slender bill, and a reddish crest that can be raised or lowered

Non-breeding males, females, and immature: brownish-grey, darker on the back

underparts - white

white wing patch in flight