Spectacular ducks

Hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus), female above, male below. The male’s wild crest is lowered in this shot, the female’s cinnamon-colored one mostly upright. These birds were in Central Park’s Jackie O Reservoir, where I understand they like to hunt for crayfish. Mergansers — there are two other species in our parts — have serrated bills, which is quite unusual for birds.This is a Red-Breasted Merganser’s bill, I think (the other option is the Common Merganser); note how the serration points backwards, to keep slippery aquatic prey from slipping out. A male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) in the same body of fresh water (formerly a key component in Manhattan’s water system). Certainly the most gaudy of our ducks. Both the Hoodies and the Woodies nest in tree cavities, which is unusual for ducks. Ducks generally wear their breeding plumage through the winter– which is why the cold months are great for duck viewing — unlike songbirds, who develop theirs in the spring.