Crayfish for Dinner
by Dawn Currie
Title
Crayfish for Dinner
Artist
Dawn Currie
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
Photographic artwork by Dawn Currie. Hooded Merganser with Crayfish that he just caught on his last dive.
Featured on Fine Art America/Pixels:
- A Birding Group - Wings
- All Things Reflective
- Bird Watchers
- FAA Featured Images
- FAA Portraits - Birds
- Florida Water Birds-Shore Birds
- Premium FAA Artists
- The Road To Self Promotion
- Wild Birds Of The World
- Wildlife
- 10 Plus Favorites
- 500 Views
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus): These stunning little ducks have bold, extravagant crests. Adult males have a sharp black and white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females have an elegant cinnamon crest. The fluffy crest hangs down the back of the neck when not raised.
These ducks are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a 'nictitating membrane,' which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America.
My favorite location for observing Hooded Mergansers is the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Viera Florida. They are among the hundreds of migrating birds that call these wetlands home for the winter months.
Uploaded
February 1st, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 4,102 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/22/2024 at 3:03 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet