Home > Merginae

The seaducks, Merginae, form a subfamily of the duckDendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Merginae The word duck was also used as slang for the WWII amphibious vehicle called a DUKW. The word duck meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" meaning to bend down as if to get under something, because of the w, gooseAnser Branta Chen Cereopsis † see also: Swan, Duck Anatidae Goose (plural geese is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes the swans, which are mostly larger than gees and swanCygnus ''Coscoroba Swans are large water birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae. Swans usually mate for life, though "divorce" does sometimes occur, pa family of birdFor other meanings of bird see bird (disambiguation). Many see text Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones. There are almost 9000 known species of birds ins, Anatidae.

As the name implies, most but not all, are essentially marine outside the breeding season. Many species have developed specialized salt glands to allow them to tolerate salt water, but these have not yet developed in young birds. Some of the mergansers prefer riverine habitats.

All but two of the 20 species in this group occupy habitats in far northern latitudes.

The fish-eating members of this group, such as the mergansers and Smew, have serrated edges to their bills to help them grip their prey. These are therefore often known as "sawbills".

Other seaducks take molluscs or crustaceans from the sea floor

There are twenty species in ten genera.

Subfamily Merginae

• Genus Polysticta
  • Steller's Eider Polysticta stelleri
• Genus Somateria, the eiders. These are large marine ducks The drakes have body plumage showing varying amounts of black and white, and distinctive head patterns.Females are brown.
  • Common Eider Somateria mollissima
  • Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri
  • King Eider Somateria spectabilis
• Genus Histrionicus
  • Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus
• Genus Camptorhynchus
  • Labrador Duck Camptorhynchus labradorius (extinct)
• Genus Melanitta, the scoters. These are stocky marine ducks. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills. Females are brown.
  • Common Scoter or Black Scoter Melanitta nigra
  • Velvet Scoter or White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca
  • Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata
• Genus Clangula
  • Long-tailed Duck or Oldsquaw Clangula hyemalis
• Genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. These are less marine than some species in this group, and will winter on fresh water. Drakes have white bodies with black backs and distinctive head markings. Females are grey with chestnut heads.
  • Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
  • Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica
  • Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
• Genus Mergellus
  • Smew Mergellus albellus
• Genus Lophodytes
  • Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
• Genus Mergus, the typical mergansers. These are the least marine of this group, only Red-breasted being common on the sea. These are large saw-billed ducks which dive for fish.
  • Brazilian Merganser Mergus octosetaceus
  • Auckland Islands Merganser Mergus australis (extinct)
  • Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
  • Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser
  • Chinese Merganser Mergus squamatus