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merganser
(redirected from red-breasted mergansers)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Hutchinson 0.09 sec.
merganser: see duck duck, common name for wild and domestic waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and swans. It is hunted and bred for its meat, eggs, and feathers. Strictly speaking, duck refers to the female and drake to the male.
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merganser

 or fish duck

Any species of the diving duck genus Mergus. Essentially freshwater birds, they are classified as a sea duck (tribe Mergini). Mergansers have a long body and a narrow, serrated, hooked bill for catching fish. The males of all but the common merganser, or goosander (M. merganser), are crested. The common merganser, the hooded merganser (M. cucullatus), the red-breasted merganser (M. serrator), and the smew (M. albellus), a small, compact merganser with a short bill, live in northern regions; the only southern species is the Brazilian merganser (M. octosetaceus). Mergansers are called trash ducks because their flesh is rank. See also shelduck.


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