[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This female Mallard was photographed at a park in Kerrville, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 180 f2.8 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: December 2001)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This female Mallard and creche of ducklings was photographed at St. James Park, London, England. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodak Elitechrome 200 film. (Date: April 2002)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This drake Mallard was photographed at Cley Marshes RSPB Reserve, Norfolk, England. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodak Elitechrome 200 film. (Date: May 2002)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This female Mallard was photographed at Cheyenne Bottoms, KS. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 2, 2007)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This male Mallard was photographed at Cheyenne Bottoms, KS. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 2, 2007)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This eclipse plumaged male Mallard (note the diagnostic light gray tail feathers) was photographed at the "Buffalo Wallow", Andrews, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: October 30, 2008)

[Length 23 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This Mallard pair was photographed at Lakeside Park, Andrews, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: November 26, 2008)

[Length 25 in. Wingspan 34 in.]

Common Mergansers are duck-like birds with long thin bills. The male has a white body with some black on the back, and a dark, greenish head. The female has a pearly gray body, and a reddish head (with a shaggy crest) which contrasts sharply with its white breast (the similar female Red-breasted Merganser lacks the sharp contrast). Common Mergansers breed across southern Alaska, most of Canada, and the northwest US states. They winter along the southern coast of Alaska, the western and eastern coasts of Canada, and across most of the US except the southeastern and far southcentral states. This male Common Merganser was photographed along the Cache LaPoudre River near Estes Park, Colorado. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 800 film. (Date: June 1986)