Hooded merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

The Hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Wooded ponds and rivers across North America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Lophodytes cucullatus
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Hooded merganser lives

Wooded ponds and rivers across North America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs40%
🐟 Fish30%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%
🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Males have a fan-shaped white crest that they can raise and lower.

Hear the Hooded merganser

Recorded by Paul Marvin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC346072. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Hooded merganser

Where does the Hooded merganser live?

The Hooded merganser lives in United States and Canada. Wooded ponds and rivers across North America.

What does the Hooded merganser eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), fish (about 30%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Hooded merganser endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.