Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAnseriformes
- FamilyAnatidae (Anàtids)
- GenusMergus (Typical Mergansers)
- SpeciesMergus serrator (Red-breasted Merganser)
The red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) is a duck species that is native to much of the temperate to subarctic 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 most frequent species in the genus Mergus to frequent saltwater regularly. The worldwide population of this species is stable, though it is threatened in some areas by habitat loss and other factors. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Nahanni National Park
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bucephala islandica
Common Teal
Anas crecca
Lesser Scaup
Aythya affinis
American Wigeon
Mareca americana
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Trumpeter Swan
Cygnus buccinator
Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
Long-tailed Duck
Clangula hyemalis
Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
Common Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
Harlequin Duck
Histrionicus histrionicus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Red-breasted Merganser at Nahanni National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there