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Mergus serrator

Mergus serrator (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Aves
Subclassis: Carinatae
Infraclassis: Neornithes
Parvclassis: Neognathae
Ordo: Anseriformes
Familia: Anatidae
Subfamilia: Merginae
Genus: Mergus
Species: Mergus serrator

Name

Mergus serrator Linnaeus, 1758

References

* Carolus Linnaeus: Systema Naturae ed.10 p.129

Vernacular names
Internationalization
Česky: Morčák prostřední
Ελληνικά : Θαλασσοπρίστης
English: Red-breasted Merganser
Français: Harle huppé
Galego: Mergo cristado
Русский: Длинноносый крохаль

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The Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) is a diving duck.

Its breeding habitat is freshwater lakes and rivers across northern North America, Greenland, Europe and Asia. It nests in sheltered locations on the ground near water. It is migratory and many northern breeders winter in coastal waters further south.

The adult Red-breasted Merganser is 52–58 cm long with a 67–82 cm wingspan. It has a spiky crest and long thin red bill with serrated edges. Adult males have a dark head with a green sheen, a white neck with a rusty breast, a black back and white underparts. Adult females have a rusty head and a greyish body. Juveniles are like the female, but lack the white collar and have a smaller white wing patch.

The call of the female is a rasping prrak prrak, and the male gives a feeble hiccup-and-sneeze display call.

Red-breasted Mergansers dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat small fish, but also aquatic insects, crustaceans and frogs.

The Red-breasted Merganser is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

It has been claimed to be the fastest bird in level flight, reaching speeds of 129 km/h (80 mph),[2][3] but is disputed whether the White-throated Needletail is faster, reportedly flying at 170 km/h (105 mph)[4].

References

1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Mergus serrator. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Table of various fastest flying things. Retrieved on 10 June 2009
4. ^ [2] Retrieved on 10 June 2009

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Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License