Waterfowl and waterbirdsDucks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Very rareVery rare in Travis County but rare in Texas

The common merganser or goosander is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. The name "common merganser" is used in North America, while "goosander" is used in Eurasia.

Songs and calls

Song · Poland
Jarek Matusiak · xeno-canto XC96429 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5
Alarm call, call · Finland
Stanislas Wroza · xeno-canto XC1168283 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Alarm call · Finland
Stanislas Wroza · xeno-canto XC1168281 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call, flight call · Finland
Stanislas Wroza · xeno-canto XC1168280 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Bar chart and range on eBird

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Where it's been seen

Hotspots with reports in the last 30 days.

Not reported in Travis County in the last 30 days

Browse species seen recently

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Telling it apart

Field marks that matter, and the birds it's most often mixed up with.

Long and slender, with a thin red bill that's thick at the base. Males are mostly white with a black back and a green head.^{[1, 2]}
Females are gray with a bright rusty head, a sharply set-off white throat and a clean line between the brown neck and white chest.^{[1, 3]}
Very rare here, in midwinter.^[4]

Possibly mistaken for

Male
Red-breasted MerganserRare
Females are alike; look at the contrast on the head and neck.^{[1, 3]}
Common Merganser:
A bright rusty head with a sharp white throat, and a clean line between the brown neck and white chest.
Red-breasted Merganser:
A duller head that blends into the pale throat and chest, a shaggier crest and a thinner bill.

Sources (4) and credits

Common Merganser, Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Common Merganser, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Red-breasted Merganser, Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Travis County bar charts (eBird Basic Dataset), eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Lookalike photos from Wikimedia Commons: Red-breasted Merganser by Needsmoreritalin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recordings: Common Merganser (song) by Jarek Matusiak (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5, xeno-canto); Red-breasted Merganser (call, song) by Andrew Spencer (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, xeno-canto)

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Through the year

Rare or irregular

Common Merganser: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026

Show as table

Common Merganser: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026
Week	Checklists reporting it
Jan 1–7	0.2%
Jan 8–14	0.2%
Jan 15–21	0.2%
Jan 22–end	<0.1%
Feb 1–7	0.1%
Feb 8–14	<0.1%
Feb 15–21	0%
Feb 22–end	<0.1%
Mar 1–7	<0.1%
Mar 8–14	<0.1%
Mar 15–21	0%
Mar 22–end	0%
Apr 1–7	0%
Apr 8–14	0%
Apr 15–21	0%
Apr 22–end	0%
May 1–7	0%
May 8–14	0%
May 15–21	0%
May 22–end	0%
Jun 1–7	0%
Jun 8–14	0%
Jun 15–21	0%
Jun 22–end	0%
Jul 1–7	0%
Jul 8–14	0%
Jul 15–21	0%
Jul 22–end	0%
Aug 1–7	0%
Aug 8–14	0%
Aug 15–21	0%
Aug 22–end	0%
Sep 1–7	0%
Sep 8–14	0%
Sep 15–21	0%
Sep 22–end	0%
Oct 1–7	0%
Oct 8–14	0%
Oct 15–21	0%
Oct 22–end (now)	0%
Nov 1–7	0%
Nov 8–14	0%
Nov 15–21	0%
Nov 22–end	0%
Dec 1–7	0%
Dec 8–14	0%
Dec 15–21	<0.1%
Dec 22–end	<0.1%

This week: Not usually reported now
Peak: early Jan · 0.2% of checklists
Earliest eBird record here: Dec 18, 1974
Checklists reporting it: 71 across 5 years
eBird high count: 7 (Dec 19, 2017)
All year, here vs Texas: <0.1% of checklists here, <0.1% statewide
Texas counties with records: 87 of 254 since 2016

Best hotspots for it

Share of complete checklists at each hotspot that reported it (2016–2026). Hotspots with fewer than 15 checklists are left out, and the order discounts small samples, so a hotspot with few checklists can sit below one with a lower share.

1Pace Bend Park5% of 473
2Pace Bend Park--Mesquite Point4% of 77
3Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area--Central & Eastern portion (Travis Co.)1% of 202
4Point Venture Park0.7% of 302

From the eBird Basic Dataset (Sep-2026), complete checklists only.

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