Red-breasted Merganser

Undoubtedly one of Ireland's most flamboyant-looking birds, the Red-breasted Merganser is a member of the duck family. Breeding is confined mainly to coastal lakes and rivers in the west and north of the island, often in areas with good woodland cover. In the winter, however, when our resident population is augmented by migrants from northern Europe, they can be seen at estuaries, sea inlets and sheltered bays right around the coast, though not often in terribly large numbers.

Averaging 55cm in length, the Red-breasted Merganser is more or less the same size as the familiar Mallard, though it appears more slender overall and has a longer neck. Though most often seen only at a distance, at close range the male is unmistakable: a gorgeous bird with a dark green head with an unusual wispy crest at the rear, a white collar, a black, white and grey body and wings and strikingly red eyes and bill. Despite the species' name, the breast is more chestnut than red in colour, flecked with small dark spots. As with most ducks, the female looks quite different, with a reddish-brown head, a shorter crest, a pale throat and a greyish body.

Red-breasted Mergansers feed mainly on fish, which they dive underwater to catch. This type of prey is too slippery for most ducks to deal with, but the edges of the merganser's long, narrow bill have lots of very fine, tooth-like serrations, giving them excellent grip. This bill design, shared by a few other close relatives, is often described as resembling a saw; in fact, this group of ducks is known to birdwatchers as the “sawbills”.

∏More For information on Ireland's ducks and other wild birds, or to join BirdWatch Ireland and support their conservation work, please call 01 2819878, email info@birdwatchireland.ie or visit www.birdwatchireland.ie. You can also write to BirdWatch Ireland at PO Box 12, Greystones, Co Wicklow with any bird-related queries