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Mergus octosetaceus

2023-03-05 16:28:19 86

The Brown Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus) is Brazilian Merganser, without subspecies.

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Mergansers often live in small flocks. Solitary activity is occasionally seen during migration and in winter. When swimming, the neck is very straight, sometimes the head is submerged in the water, and frequently diving. Rest more wandering on the shore or perched on the beach by the water. The flight is fast and straight, the two wings move quickly, and the sound of wings is often clear. It takes off awkwardly, requiring a sharp flap of the wings and a run across the water to get up. Diving is also very good, can dive in the water for 25-35 seconds at a time. Can also walk on the ground, rest often floating on the water. Head held high. The neck is very straight. Sometimes he went to rest on the shore. Walking on land is fine. When diving, like other merganser ducks, they first jump up, then roll over and dive into the water. Fly fast and straight. When taking off, the two wings need to beat quickly on the water to fly up, which is somewhat laborious and awkward. Sex timid and alert.

Mergansers feed mainly by diving, but sometimes by diving their heads directly into the water at the edge of the water. Foraging is mostly in small groups, swimming while diving for food, sometimes dispersed into 2-3 or single foraging. The diet is mainly small fish, but also aquatic insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic animals. And occasionally eat small amounts of plant foods.  

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Mergansers generally establish permanent territories on banks 8 to 14 km from rivers, depending on suitability for nesting and foraging. Nests are built in tree holes, stone crevices, or abandoned caves. The breeding season is during the southern Hemisphere winter, when there is little rainfall and water levels are low, but geography may vary. Pair off into forest streams rich in fish and aquatic animals to find nests. Nests are usually built in natural holes in old trees close to the water, but also in rock crevices, burrows, shrublands and grass on the shore. The female incubates her eggs. The male leaves the female shortly after she begins brooding and joins other males in a secluded area to moult. Incubation period is 32-35 days. Young birds are early sex, after hatching the whole body is covered with feathers, 2-3 days after the shell is out of the nest hole into the water. Once in the water, you can swim and dive.
The breeding season of brown mergansers is usually in June and July, with three to six eggs laid per nest, and the hatching period of chicks is in July and August. Young ducks arrive in September or October already capable of flying. Only the mother broods the eggs, but both parents are involved in the care of the young. This is a very unusual act by both duck parents, who jointly feed the ducklings directly in the same way that pigeons feed their young.

Listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1 - Critically Endangered (CR).


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It is found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
It inhabits shallow streams with dense tropical forests, fast-flowing rivers and surrounding clear waters.
The brown merganser is 49-56 cm long. It is a dark-feathered merganser with a long slender crown dark green with luster, and the female usually has a shorter crown. The upper body is dark gray, the chest is light gray, and the belly is white, especially the white wing mirror on the wings is very obvious when flying. There is a slender serrated red foot, a duck's beak and black legs. Female ducks have shorter bills and smaller crests. The brown merganser is relatively slender, and the male and female are the same color. Young ducks are distinguished from adults by their predominantly black and white throats and breasts.