Common Merganser

	Common Merganser
	Cat Given Name:	Duck
	Common Name(s):	Common Loon,  Mallard,  Canvasback,  Horned Grebe,  Wood Duck,  Green-winged Teal,  Red-throated Loon,  Ruddy Duck,  Blue-winged Teal,  Bufflehead,  Northern Shoveler,  Gadwall,  American Wigeon,  Redhead,  Common Goldeneye,  Long-tailed Duck,  Hooded Merganser,  Lesser Scaup,  Common Merganser,  Pied-billed Grebe,  Ring-necked Duck,  Red-breasted Merganser,  Greater Scaup,  American Black Duck
	Other Name(s):	Great Northern Diver,  Wild Duck,  Slavonian Grebe,  Devil-diver,  Hell-diver,  Pink-Eyed Diver,  Water Witch,  Carolina Duck,  Red-throated Diver,  Shoveler,  American Widgeon,  Baldplate,  Oldsquaw,  Harelda hyemalis,  Mergus cucullatus
	Scientific Name(s):	Gavia immer,  Anas platyrhynchos,  Aythya valisineria,  Podiceps auritus,  Aix sponsa,  Anas carolinensis,  Gavia stellata,  Oxyura jamaicensis,  Anas discors,  Bucephala albeola,  Anas clypeata,  Anas strepera,  Anas americana,  Aythya americana,  Bucephala clangula,  Clangula hyemalis,  Lophodytes cucullatus,  Mergus merganser,  Anas rubripes
	Physical Description:	The largest of the three merganser species. The females have rusty-brown heads with ragged crests and a white chin patch, slaty-gray breast, back, wings and tail with white flanks and belly. The males are slightly bigger and in late summer molt males look like females in coloration except with a larger white patch on wing and a smaller crest. Both sexes have a long narrow serrated scarlet-orange bill with toothy projections along its edges that help the duck hold onto fish. In flight their profile is said to resemble a lawn dart.
	Physical Statistics:	Length: 21.3 - 28 Inches (54 - 71 Centimeters) Weight: 31.7 - 76.2 Ounces (900 – 2160 Grams) Wingspan: 33.9 Inches (86 Centimeters)
	Behavior:	Common mergansers are usually silent except during courtship or when alarmed. Females nest in cavities high above the ground, usually in trees. Young from several broods may join to form large aggregations called crèches and can survive independent of their mother and are flying after about two months. Common mergansers often swim together in small groups along the shoreline, where they dive frequently for food.
	Social Organization:	Migratory Flock, they are often the first waterfowl to return north in the spring and the last to move south in the fall.
	Approval Level*:	Moderator; These ducks are uncommon in the forest, perhaps following the river during their migrations. It is possible but unlikely that a pair may mate and a female raise young in the area, they prefer mature forests further north.
	Kill Difficulty:	Moderate; Common mergansers are large birds with the ability to deliver a solid buffet with their wings to an attacking cat.
	Hunting Difficulty:	Specialty - Duck; Hunters must carefully ambush them from the shore. Failure in a kill results in the bird either flying off, swimming away, or diving and vanishing into the water.
	Food Quality:	High; Common mergansers supply a large amount of nutritous meat that can be shared amongst many cats.
*Some creatures require approval to appear in RP. This is to make sure the Admins and Mods who need to know are fully aware of a species currently active in their area. These ratings are mainly for those creatures that are uncommon or pose a threat of some sort to the cats.