Mer-gân'ser, n.

noun

(Synop., § 130), n. [Sp. mergānsar, from mergo, Lat. mergus, a diver, from mergere, to dive, and Sp. ansar, Lat. anser, goose.] (Ornith.) A duck having a straight, narrow, and slender bill, wide at the base and hooked at the tip. These ducks form the genus Mergus.

The hooded merganser is the Mergus (or Sophodytes) cucullatus. It migrates from the arctic regions to the United States.

An engraving of a red-breasted merganser swimming on the water. — Red-breasted Merganser (*Mergus serrator*).