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  • Red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted merganser (male)
Red-breasted merganser (male)
Red-breasted merganser (female)
Red-breasted merganser (female)
  • Scientific name: Mergus serrator
  • Bird family: Ducks, geese and swans
  • UK conservation status: Green
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

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Ruud van Beusekom, xeno-canto

Key information

These handsome diving ducks belong to the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. Their diet of fish such as salmon and trout has brought them into conflict with game fishermen. At home on both fresh- and saltwater, red-breasted mergansers are most commonly seen around the UK's coastline in winter. They are gregarious, forming flocks of several hundred in the autumn.

What they eat:

Fish.

Measurements:

Length:
52-58cm
Wingspan:
70-86cm
Weight:
900-1,350g

Population:

UK breeding:
2,800 pairs
UK wintering:
9,000 birds

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

Red-breasted merganser (male)

Male red-breasted merganser
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff Green Grey White
Leg colour: Orange Red
Beak: Black Orange Red Long Hooked Thin
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Red-breasted merganser (female)

Female red-breasted merganser
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff Grey White
Leg colour: Orange Red
Beak: Black Orange Red Long Duck-like Hooked Thin
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Similar birds:

  • Goosander male
    Goosander

Where and when to see them

The UK breeding population of red-breasted mergansers are concentrated in the north-west of Scotland, England, Wales and in parts of N Ireland. RSPB reserves with red-breasted mergansers in winter include Morecambe Bay, Lancs; Langstone Harbour, Hants; Exe Estuary, Devon; Arne, Dorset; Snettisham and Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk; Lough Foyle, Co Londonderry; Belfast Lough, Co Antrim; Culbin Sands, Highland; Udale Bay, Highland.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Red-breasted merganser distribution map

UK birds start to flock on the coast from July, reaching a peak in December. Birds from N Europe also arrive in late autumn. They return to the breeding areas in March.

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