This courting pair of Hooded Mergansers appeared in our field pond in April of 2017, the last time that we saw Hoodies there -- until last week. The 18-inch adults of this species are the smallest and oddest of the three types of American Merganser, but they’re the most handsome of the Mergansers in my opinion.
When excited, or just when they feel like it, Hooded Mergansers erect their proportionately massive hoods (crests, really), which contort their heads into tomahawk-shaped structures. This is particularly spectacular on the orange-eyed, black-faced male Hoodie.
When his crest is down, he sports a white racing stripe on each side of his head; when his crest is up, he wears a cresting moon in a black sky.
(Brooklin, Maine; Leighton Archive images used)