One of the most distinctive ducks that migrates into my area for the winter is the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). The male has a curious-looking head that is black and the white and the female has an orange-brown hairstyle that literally sticks out.
Sometimes Hooded Mergansers arrive in groups and I have seen some recent photos by local photographers of males competing for the attention of the females. In this case, cover, I spotted only one couple at the small suburban pond not far from where I live. The ducks dozed a bit and occasionally preened their feathers, so there was not a whole lot of action to capture. I was content to capture a few “record” images and hope I will have some more chances to see these little diving ducks in the upcoming months.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wonderful to see this truly handsome duck, Mike. How nice they are in your area for the winter. Beautiful photos.
Thanks, Jet. The Hooded Mergansers generally are tied with Wood Ducks for being my favorite ducks. 🙂
Wow that Hooded bird does look crazy! haha. His head just goes so far back. Beautiful birds.
Hooded Mergansers are definitely crazy-looking. I don’t what is is about the heads of the males, but their shapes seem to vary a lot, depending on what the duck is doing. 🙂
Ya super interesting for sure.
So pretty!
Thanks. These little ducks definitely look a lot different than Mallards, the most common duck in my area.
Nice captures of these beauties, Mike! The disheveled look of the females always makes me chuckle and boy, can they zoom in the water.
The females definitely have crazy “hair”–sometimes it stand straight up and other times like has a circular look, almost like an Afro style.
Lovely!