merganser

mer·gan·ser | \ (ˌ)mər-ˈgan(t)-sər

How to pronounce merganser (audio)

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Definition of merganser

: any of various fish-eating diving ducks (especially genus Mergus) with a slender bill hooked at the end and serrated along the margins and usually a crested head — see common merganser

Examples of merganser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Along the Wachusett Reservoir, there were 31 greater scaups at South Bay, three lesser scaups and four common loons at the Fletcher Street Bridge, three red-breasted mergansers at Rainbow Cove, and a Common Loon at the Clinton Dam. — BostonGlobe.com, "Bird sightings," 11 Jan. 2020 And, in fact some swimmers do come in the winter: buffleheads, ring-necked ducks, mergansers and other waterfowl visiting from the north. — New York Times, "The Magic of Swimming Holes," 18 Aug. 2019 The pools beavers make are too shallow for diving predators like mergansers and kingfishers and bigger fish. — Starre Vartan, National Geographic, "Beavers on the coast are helping salmon bounce back. Here’s how.," 13 Aug. 2019 Usually, the lake had a mix of pines and maples around it, mallards and mergansers on it, the sky’s changing moods reflected in it. — Alec Scott, Sunset Magazine, "Lake Effect: On Reviving a Family Tradition with Your Closest Friends," 22 Jan. 2018 At Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a hooded merganser, a little blue heron, and a sora were spotted. — BostonGlobe.com, "Bird sightings across the region," 23 June 2019 Today, a mated pair of mergansers share this bay of the fjord with splashing arctic terns, recently arrived from waters off Antarctica. — Anchorage Daily News, "The sound of silence in Russell Fjord," 8 June 2019 Ring-necked ducks, buffleheads and hooded mergansers arrive for the winter. — Houston Chronicle, "Top birding spots around Texas," 10 May 2018 But 50 yards to the north, mergansers and goldeneyes dove for fish in an open circle of water. — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Wisconsin's Lake Michigan harbors host world-class ice fishing for trout," 13 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'merganser.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

25 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Merganser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merganser. Accessed 23 Feb. 2020.

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