BirdBrain Academy

Waterfowl · Anatidae

Hooded Merganser sounds

Lophodytes cucullatus

The Hooded Merganser is a striking, fish-eating duck with a movable crest and a North American native range.

Learn bird sounds freeMore Hooded Merganser recordings
Hooded Merganser
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the Hooded Merganser

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Alarm Call · recording 1 Spectrogram of a Hooded Merganser alarm call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Seney NWR, Schoolcraft, Michigan, 2013-07-09. XC142587 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call, Flight Call · recording 2 Spectrogram of a Hooded Merganser call, flight call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Minnesota Valley NWR, Old Cedar Ave Bridge, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-05-23. XC134692 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Alarm Call · recording 3 Spectrogram of a Hooded Merganser alarm call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Seney NWR, Schoolcraft, Michigan, 2013-07-09. XC142587 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

What it looks like

The Hooded Merganser is sexually dimorphic, with both sexes bearing crests they can raise or lower. Breeding males are mainly black above with bold white crest patches, chestnut flanks, and white underparts, while females are greyish brown with a reddish-brown crest.

Where to find it

The Hooded Merganser favors small bodies of water such as ponds and small estuaries with ample emergent aquatic vegetation, but also uses wetlands, flooded timber, rivers, and brackish waters. It is a diving predator that hunts largely by sight underwater, feeding mostly on fish along with aquatic insects and other invertebrates.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Eastern Canada
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • New England
  • Northwest
  • Plains
  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Canada

Did you know?

  • It is the only extant species in the genus Lophodytes.
  • It is the only merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America.
  • Females nest in tree cavities or artificial nest boxes, and hatchlings usually leave within 24 hours.

Learn the Hooded Merganser by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.