I was watching this duck...both the female and the males for a bit today. I cannot help myself but everytime I see the female appear I start laughing.
Those reddish "locks" of hair swept backward and frozen in place give the illusion that she is constantly facing into the wind. It also looks a bit like a bad hair day. I am a wash and go kind of woman but it makes me think of women who spend a lot of time styling their hair and then go outside into the "wrong" kind of weather and then they end up looking like the female merganser.
Yeah I just getta kick out of it!
The other thing too I have considered is why some species have the same appearance for both female and male and others do not. Like this one....this is a pair that has more contrast (except for when he is pre-adult male) than any other duck it seems.
I kept seeing female mergansers several months ago and then I was wondering where all the males happened to be. All of them could not have been mistaken for pre-adult males. Anyway, I see them float along by one another and it just looks like a funny match (and I am one who loves diversity). The males body is so white and that "gel slick back" head of his is so different from hers. They strike me too 'cause they are one of the larger size ducks.
Now I gotta check out what the baby mergansers look like......
* laughs like crow, soars like eagle with vision of hawk, haunts like loon & lulls like nuthatch ....tickle tickle, feather has most powerful medicine of all...makes you laugh *
