Mergus merganser
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The common merganser or goosander (Mergus merganser) is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. The name "common merganser" is used in North America, while "goosander" is used in Eurasia.
The first formal description of the common merganser was written by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. He introduced the current binomial name Mergus merganser. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and merganser is derived from mergus and anser, Latin for "goose". In 1843 John James Audubon used the name "Buff-breasted Merganser" in addition to "goosander" in his book The Birds of America.
The three subspecies differ in only minor detail: It is 58–72 cm (23–28+1⁄2 in) long with a 78–97 cm (30+1⁄2–38 in) wingspan and a weight of 0.9–2.1 kg (2 lb 0 oz – 4 lb 10 oz); males are on average slightly larger than females, but with some overlap. Like other species in the genus Mergus, it has a crest of longer head feathers, but these usually... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 3 | Lanzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Taiyuan | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Sendai | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 10 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 8 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Oasi Naturalistica di Sant'Alessio | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 11 | Queens Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Stone Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Bayerwald-Tierpark Lohberg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 15 | Central Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 18 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 19 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Les Oiseaux du Marais Poitevin | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Merganser sighting in Sacramento on a given day, based on 4,785 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 29th most-seen of the 235 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Merganser in Sacramento on a given day, against about 20% in May, the lowest month. That is one of Sacramento's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against almost none in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common 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.
4th of 70
Of the 70 cities where we can rate Common Merganser sightings, Sacramento ranks 4th at about 30%. The best odds are in Calgary (Canada, about 50%), Helsinki (Finland, about 40%) and Lanzhou (China, about 30%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Common Merganser that you can see in Sacramento (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Mallard (about 60%), Canada Goose (about 60%) and Wood Duck (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Merganser is recorded against all the birds logged in Sacramento (4,785 verified sightings), 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.
