Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, Merginae, Anatidae. Adult Male Drake.
Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, Merginae, Anatidae. Adult Male Drake. The hooded merganser is a sexually dimorphic species. The female has a brown body, with a white underside and a light brown crest extending from the back of the head. The male has a similar appearance during nonbreeding season (although his eyes are yellow while the female's are brown). During breeding season, however, the male's plumage changes color: The head, back and neck become black, with white stripes near the chest and tail, and the bird develops a white crest on the back of the head that can be extended to attract mates. First-winter birds differ from adult females, in having a grey-brown neck and upperparts (black on adult females), and narrower white tertial-edges than adults; all females are dark-eyed whereas in first-winter males, a pale eye is acquired during the winter.
Size: 5192px × 3369px
Location: UK
Photo credit: © Naturepix / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: anatidae, anseriformes, ave, aves, bird, birds, black, body, brown, crest, cucullatus, dimorphic, drake, duck, ducks, female, fowl, grey-brown, hooded, juvenile, light, lophodytes, male, merganser, merginae, natural, nature, naturepix, neck, ornithology, sexually, stripes, underside, upperparts, water, waterfowl, white, wild, wildlife
