Lophodytes cucullatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a species of fish-eating duck in the subfamily Anatinae. It is the only extant species in the genus Lophodytes. The genus name derives from Greek: lophos meaning 'crest', and dutes meaning 'diver'. The bird is striking in appearance; both sexes have crests that they can raise or lower, and the breeding plumage of the male is handsomely patterned and colored. The hooded merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser.
Hooded mergansers are the second-smallest species of merganser, with only the smew of Europe and Asia being smaller, and it also is the only merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America. The hooded merganser was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Mergus cucullatus. Linnaeus based his account on the "round-crested duck" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in the first volume of his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published between 1729 and 1732. Linnaeus specified the type location as America... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SeaWorld Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | SeaWorld San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Abilene Zoological Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Ecomuseum Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 14 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Whipsnade Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 16 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 19 | The Maryland Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Hellabrunn Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 22 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 24 | Caldwell Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Franklin Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | ZooTampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 27 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 29 | Zoo Knoxville | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 31 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 32 | Fresno Chaffee Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Honolulu Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 35 | Akron Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 36 | Rosamond Gifford Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 37 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 38 | Biotropica | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 39 | Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | The Abilene Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Discovery Cove | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 42 | Queens Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 43 | Bois de la Bâtie | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 44 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | Greenville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 46 | Prospect Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Tiergarten Delitzsch | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 48 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 49 | Zoo Lagos | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 50 | Mississippi Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Merganser sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 219 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 191 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and September–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Merganser in Banff National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–August and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hooded Merganser sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Hooded Merganser sightings, Banff National Park ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%), Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Hooded Merganser that you can see in Banff National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Mallard (about 30%), Canada Goose (about 30%) and Ring-necked Duck (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hooded Merganser is recorded against all the birds logged in Banff National Park (219 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
