General Description: Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator) are sexually dimorphic pond "ducks" with a long, thin bill and a shaggy crest (every day is a bad hair day for mergansers).

In males, the head is black (iridescent green), the back is black, the neck is white, the front is reddish with black marks, and the sides are gray. The folded wings show a long, white wing patch.

Females have a rusty head, dirty gray breast, gray body, and a white wing patch.

Taxonomy: Anseriformes, Anatidae, Anatinae

Favored Habitat: Large lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. Red-breasted Mergansers are often found in salt water than other species of merganser.

Where to Find: Don't look for Red-breasted Mergansers around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them in the great northern forests (the taiga) during summer and along both coasts of North America during winter. A few winter in the lower Colorado River, so keep an eye out when birding at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Lake Mead, the Pahranagat Valley and the Overton Wildlife Management Area during winter.

Comments: These birds dive for fish, which they catch in their long, saw-tooth-edged bill.