Illustration of merganser
merganser
noun
mer·gan·ser
(ˌ)mər-ˈgan(t)-sər 
: 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
Common and red-breasted mergansers, also known as fish ducks, do indeed eat a wide variety of fish, including salmon smolts, trout, minnows, shad, and game fish.
—
M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 2 Nov. 2023
Passengers may spy mergansers and mallards, deer, and even black bears.
—Mark Orwoll, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2023
Hooded mergansers, startled by human presence, waltz across the water before flying off.
—Jennifer Berney, Outside Online, 7 Apr. 2023
Other interesting sightings were nine Northern pintails at the Monomoy Connector Beach, a hooded merganser at the Pogorelc Sanctuary in West Barnstable, a black skimmer at Menauhant Beach in Falmouth, and a white-eyed vireo at The Knob in Falmouth.
—BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Warblers and hooded mergansers congregate here because the terrain is too rough for most everybody else.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 15 Apr. 2019
Highlights included a sooty shearwater and 16 Wilson’s storm-petrels off George’s Island in Boston Harbor, a bufflehead in Winthrop, a least bittern at Belle Isle in East Boston, and a hooded merganser and an alder flycatcher at Millennium Park in West Roxbury.
—BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2021
But alas, the merganser was nowhere to be seen.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Feb. 2020
Ann Soderman, an officer of The Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club in Waukesha, saw a bald eagle, a hooded merganser and dozens of mallards along the lakeshore Thursday morning.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2023
M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 2 Nov. 2023
Passengers may spy mergansers and mallards, deer, and even black bears.
—Mark Orwoll, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2023
Hooded mergansers, startled by human presence, waltz across the water before flying off.
—Jennifer Berney, Outside Online, 7 Apr. 2023
Other interesting sightings were nine Northern pintails at the Monomoy Connector Beach, a hooded merganser at the Pogorelc Sanctuary in West Barnstable, a black skimmer at Menauhant Beach in Falmouth, and a white-eyed vireo at The Knob in Falmouth.
—BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Warblers and hooded mergansers congregate here because the terrain is too rough for most everybody else.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 15 Apr. 2019
Highlights included a sooty shearwater and 16 Wilson’s storm-petrels off George’s Island in Boston Harbor, a bufflehead in Winthrop, a least bittern at Belle Isle in East Boston, and a hooded merganser and an alder flycatcher at Millennium Park in West Roxbury.
—BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2021
But alas, the merganser was nowhere to be seen.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Feb. 2020
Ann Soderman, an officer of The Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club in Waukesha, saw a bald eagle, a hooded merganser and dozens of mallards along the lakeshore Thursday morning.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'merganser.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Merganser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merganser. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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merganser
noun
mer·gan·ser
(ˌ)mər-ˈgan(t)-sər
plural mergansers or merganser
: any of various fish-eating wild ducks with a slender bill hooked at the end and usually with a bunch of feathers on the head that point backward
More from Merriam-Webster on merganser
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about merganser
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