Hooded Merganser

The male hooded merganser (lophodytes cucullatus) is easily identified by the prominent black hood of feathers and white breast. These small ducks can be found year round in small fresh water ponds and rivers around North Carolina. They consume small fish, cray fish, and other materials while nesting in hollows of nearby trees. Waterfowl hunting rose in popularity from 1890 through 1920. In 1918 the first legislation was put into effect to limit hunting.

Collection ID: TP.2008.050.001