Species BirdsSmew

Smew

Mergellus albellus

Very rareBird
Illustration of Smew (Mergellus albellus)

The Smew is a small Eurasian merganser that appears rarely in North America, primarily in Alaska and occasionally on the Pacific Coast. Males are dazzling — almost entirely white with a black back and face patches. It is the only merganser in which the females are rusty-capped rather than brown-headed.

Habitat
Boreal lakes and rivers in Eurasia; rare vagrant to North America
Diet
Small fish and aquatic invertebrates
How common
Very rare

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