Brazilian Merganser

Mergus octosetaceus Vieillot, 1817

Anatidae — Ducks, Geese, Swans

Brazilian Merganser, Mergus octosetaceus, is a South American duck that breeds in sc Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina. It belongs to the Anatidae family and was described by Vieillot in 1817. It lives on clean rivers and streams in remote, mountainous country, where it keeps to fast water with rapids and riverside vegetation. The bird is strongly territorial and remains on the same watercourses once established. It has a long, narrow bill with tooth-like edges, and the sexes are similar in plumage, though females are smaller with a shorter bill and crest.

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae — Ducks, Geese, Swans
Breeding range: South America: sc Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina

Tours where you can spot this bird

2 tours in Brazil

Nine-day Minas Gerais Cerrado and Forest Birding

Brazil / Belo Horizonte Custom tour 9 days

Travel from Belo Horizonte to Canastra, Serra do Cipó and Caraça on a nine-day birding circuit, searching Cerrado rivers, upland grassland...

Private Five-Day Canastra National Park Birding with Ricardo Barbosa

Brazil / Sao Roque de Minas Private tour 5 days

Spend five private days across Serra da Canastra's Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and high-altitude grasslands in search of distinctive Brazilian ...