Hooded Merganser
I took this photo in Georgia, November 2022. There were hundreds of these birds in a small pond across from the hotel where we stayed.
"Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles." - allaboutbirds.org
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We have a bird in Europe called the "Goldeneye" are the two species related or perhaps the same, just given different names.
Cool, thanks.
I will keep an eye out for one over here, not sure if they are migratory but should be warm enough to head over to stover in a month or so.
@zleap
Thank you, for the question. I did some quick research and came up with the below information:
The common goldeneye and the hooded merganser are both in the same family - Anatidae. But they are different species. The common goldeneye species name is B. clangula, while the hooded merganser species name is L. cucullatus.
The common goldeneye range includes North American, Europe, and Asia. The hooded merganser is found in North America.
Cheer! 🙂