Sublimely Silly
March 28th, 2011
The courtship of Hooded Mergansers never fails to make me smile.
On the Rideau Friday morning, I watched as two males vied for the attention of a female. It's like this: a male swims along in front of or beside his prospective mate--his white crest expanded to its full unwieldly proportions--then he starts jerking his neck spasmodically. After a second or two of this, all of a sudden (good luck firing the shutter at the right moment!), he pops his head all the way back, and utters a hoarse, soft "bow-bowwww." Some people call it a froggy sound--to me it's like a distant, muted didgeridoo.
As with the goldeneyes, the female just swims along staring straight ahead and showing no apparent interest in all this weirdness. And yet, eventually, she gives in!
March 28th, 2011
The courtship of Hooded Mergansers never fails to make me smile.
On the Rideau Friday morning, I watched as two males vied for the attention of a female. It's like this: a male swims along in front of or beside his prospective mate--his white crest expanded to its full unwieldly proportions--then he starts jerking his neck spasmodically. After a second or two of this, all of a sudden (good luck firing the shutter at the right moment!), he pops his head all the way back, and utters a hoarse, soft "bow-bowwww." Some people call it a froggy sound--to me it's like a distant, muted didgeridoo.
As with the goldeneyes, the female just swims along staring straight ahead and showing no apparent interest in all this weirdness. And yet, eventually, she gives in!
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Mike
March 29th, 2011 at 8:16 am
*grins* They are somewhat peculiar-looking!