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hooded merganser
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Illustrations of eight bird heads, each showing a different bill shape adapted for feeding: a hooked bill for tearing flesh on a red-tailed hawk, a cone-shaped bill for cracking seeds on a northern cardinal, a flat bill for catching fish on a roseate spoonbill, a spear-like bill for jabbing prey on a great blue heron, a chisel-like bill for digging insects on a northern flicker, a large pouch bill for scooping fish on a brown pelican, a narrow bill with toothlike edges for catching fish on a hoo
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hooded merganser

bird
Also known as: Lophodytes cucullatus, Mergus cucullatus
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Illustrations of eight bird heads, each showing a different bill shape adapted for feeding: a hooked bill for tearing flesh on a red-tailed hawk, a cone-shaped bill for cracking seeds on a northern cardinal, a flat bill for catching fish on a roseate spoonbill, a spear-like bill for jabbing prey on a great blue heron, a chisel-like bill for digging insects on a northern flicker, a large pouch bill for scooping fish on a brown pelican, a narrow bill with toothlike edges for catching fish on a hoo
beaks

The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a small, North American merganser. Adult males are distinguished by a high, nearly circular crest on their heads. This species is unique among mergansers for its tree-nesting habits in woodland waterways. Mergansers, in general, are long-bodied diving ducks with narrow bills featuring toothlike edges and hooked tips, adapted for catching fish. While primarily freshwater birds, they are classified with sea ducks. The flesh of mergansers is often considered unpalatable, leading to the nickname "trash ducks".12

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