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The Red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) is a bird found in United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. Northern lakes and coasts across the Northern Hemisphere. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Red-breasted merganser lives

Northern lakes and coasts across the Northern Hemisphere.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐟 Fish70%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants10%

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

Conservation status

Hear the Red-breasted merganser

Recorded by Patrik Åberg (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC449749. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Red-breasted merganser

Where does the Red-breasted merganser live?

The Red-breasted merganser lives in United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. Northern lakes and coasts across the Northern Hemisphere.

What does the Red-breasted merganser eat?

fish (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Red-breasted merganser endangered?

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

More birds from Europe

• Zitting cisticola
• Western yellow wagtail
• Rook
• European serin
• Green sandpiper
• Garden warbler

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