Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus Linnaeus       Field Guide IDs: NG-94; G-62; PE-62; PW-pl 13; AE-pl 128; AW-pl 102; AM (I)-202 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy F I: 32-33 (28-41) DAYS PRECOCIAL 2 15-20 feet F 10-12 (7-13) MONOG F: 71 DAYS F AQUATIC .....INVERTS BREEDING: Forested habitats near water, lakes, swamps, marshes, estuaries. 1 brood. DISPLAYS: See: Duck Displays. NEST: Tree cavity near water, rarely in hollow log. Lined with grass, leaves, down. Perennial. EGGS: White, often nest-stained. 2.1" (54 mm). DIET: Mostly fish, but also many crustaceans, insects, some lower vertebrates and mollusks. CONSERVATION: Winters s to coastal n Mexico. Will use nest boxes and cavities used by Wood Ducks. NOTES: Females lay in each other's nests resulting in dump nests with up to 36 eggs. Male deserts female early in incubation. Known to share incubation with Wood Duck or goldeneye females. In early summer, immature birds reportedly inspect nest sites for future nesting. Broods do not combine as they do in other mergansers. Female performs distraction display. Very fast flyer. In winter, arrive singly or in flocks up to 16, but usu in pairs to form single species roost (on water) in groups of 100-200; actively display until dark. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Distraction Displays; Communal Roosting; Dabblers vs. Divers; Parasitized Ducks; How Fast and High Do Birds Fly?; Who Incubates? REFERENCES: Barbour, 1982; Bellrose, 1976; Gooders and Boyer, 1986; McGilvrey, 1966.