Goosander

Male with dark green iridescent head, white breast and flanks (often with a salmon-pink wash), black back, and dark wingtips. Female grey with reddish-brown head and sharply defined white throat.

Males in eclipse plumage closely resemble females but retain the extensive white patch on the upper wing and appear slightly more robust.

Similar to the female but with a shorter crest and a pale loral stripe between the eye and the bill base; the brown head coloration is less intense and the neck contrast is lower.

Pronounced; males in breeding plumage high-contrast black-white-green, females cryptic grey-brown with a distinctive head and crest.

Largest merganser; long, narrow, red bill with a hook; females show a sharp boundary between the brown head and grey neck (unlike Red-breasted Merganser).

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator): Smaller, shaggier crest, females with a blurred transition on the neck. Smew (Mergellus albellus): Significantly smaller, males almost entirely white.

Narrow, red, with saw-like lamellae for securing slippery fish; upper mandible with a hooked nail at the tip.

No song in the conventional sense; during courtship, quiet, rhythmic, mechanical-sounding 'u-u-u' or 'wig-wig' notes from the male.

Most common call of the female is a deep, harsh 'karr karr'; males utter quiet, metallic 'tek-tek' notes during courtship or flight.

Holarctic distribution; boreal zones of Northern Europe, Northern Asia, and North America, as well as mountain regions like the Alps and parts of Central Asia.

Ice-free inland waters and coastal regions in temperate latitudes, south of the breeding grounds (e.g., Baltic Sea, North Sea, Alpine lakes, Caspian Sea).

Partial migrant; northern populations move south or west when waters freeze, while Central European birds are often residents or short-distance migrants.

Oligotrophic to mesotrophic, clear running waters and lakes with gravelly beds and adjacent forests providing suitable tree cavities.

Clear, fish-rich waters; in winter also on larger lakes, rivers, and in sheltered marine bays or estuaries.

In tree cavities (often Black Woodpecker holes), nest boxes, rarely in rock crevices or under buildings; the nest cup is abundantly lined with down.

Creamy white to pale yellow, smooth, slightly glossy; dimensions approx. 68 x 46 mm.

Sole incubation by the female; chicks are precocial and are led to the water and intensively cared for by the female.

Predominantly fish (e.g., sculpins, trout, minnows, grayling) up to approx. 20 cm in length; supplemented by aquatic insects, crustaceans, and worms.

Almost exclusively fish; utilizes schooling fish in larger lakes or ice-free coastal waters during winter.

Diving from the water surface; active pursuit of prey underwater as a visual hunter; often holds the head underwater to search for prey.

Active underwater search, often in shallow to medium-depth areas; sometimes cooperative hunting in groups (communal herding).

Territorial at the nest during the breeding season; highly gregarious during winter and molt, formation of large flocks on ice-free waters possible.

Formation of communal roosts on open water; coordinated fish hunting in line formation or semicircles observed.

Loss of nesting cavities due to modern forestry, river engineering, disturbances from water sports (canoeing), illegal persecution due to fishery interests.

In Germany stable to increasing, significant expansion into the North German lowlands; global population is considered stable (IUCN).

Preservation of riparian buffer strips with old-growth trees, provision of specialized nest boxes, protection of breeding waters from disturbance, protection from illegal culling.