common merganser

noun

: a merganser (Mergus merganser) widely distributed in the northern hemisphere with the male having mostly white plumage and a blackish-green head during the breeding season and the female and nonbreeding male having mostly gray plumage and a reddish-brown head

called also (chiefly British) goosander

Examples of common merganser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Per the Press, in addition to geese, ducks and common mergansers have been found dead at Georgica Pond, along with a mute swan and a seagull. Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 10 Mar. 2026 The female common merganser was first sighted in the park on February 19, David Barrett of the Manhattan Bird Alert Twitter account tells Gothamist’s Jen Carlson. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Feb. 2020 Though the common merganser is rare to the NYC area, pollution in bird habitats is not. Ganesh Setty, CNN, 25 Feb. 2020 Bradley Kane Initially, birders rejoiced at the rare New York City sighting of a common merganser, an elegant-looking duck with a regal auburn crest, in Central Park. Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of common merganser was in 1817

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Cite this Entry

“Common merganser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/common%20merganser. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

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