A white form on the distant water may be the sides and breast of an adult male, whose deep green head and dark back are less visable when far away.

The pearl gray bodies and white breasts of females, subadults, and eclipse males are starkly delineated from their full-crested chestnut heads. Long, slender, saw-tooth bills are held horizontally during surface swimming and grip squirming prey after an underwater chase.

From coastal bays to the high Cascades, in all corners of Oregon and far beyond, common mergansers ply the rivers and peer into still waters in their efficient pursuit of fish. This merganser breeds commonly in mountainous areas but is nearly absent as a breeder in the Colombia and Great basins, where open water is scarce.

Hear the call of the common merganser

Photo by ©Greg Gilson