Mergus merganser
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Subfamily Anatinae
Other names: American Merganser, Sheldrake, Goosander
♂ Adult male.— Head and neck apparently black (glossy green in strong light); no crest on hind head; middle of back black; tail gray; broad collar about neck, sides of upper back, and entire under parts (except neck) pure white (tinged below in strong light with salmon); wings white, showing black quill-feathers and a black bar when spread; bill and feet red.
♀ Adult female.— Throat white; rest of head and neck, with a crest on hind head, reddish-brown; rest of upper parts and tail gray; wings black, with a white patch; under parts white; bill reddish-brown; feet reddish-orange.
Nest, in a hollow tree.
Eggs, white, tinged with buff.
The American Merganser is a summer resident of the streams and lakes in northern New Hampshire, and in northern and eastern Maine. In the rest of New England it occurs as a rather common migrant along the larger streams, and as a winter visitant wherever falls and rapids keep the streams open during the winter, as on Merrimac below Manchester, N. H., and along the Connecticut below Enfield; it is tolerably common along the Hudson from January to March. Like the [Red-breasted Merganser], it is an expert diver, and pursues small fish in the shallow water. When it rises from the water, it generally pats the surface for some distance with its feet, showing the broad white patches on the wing.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)