Mergus serrator; red-breasted merganser

Japanese: ウミアイサ（英語表記）Mergus serrator; red-breasted merganser

Order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. Total length 51-62cm. In the male's summer plumage (→ plumage), the head is metallic black with green bristles, and a crest (→ crest) that looks like bristles extends from the back of the head. The back of the neck, back, and primary flight feathers are black. The coverts are white and stand out clearly during flight. The neck and abdomen are white, and the chest is reddish brown with fine black mottling. In the non-breeding season, males resemble females. The female's head and upper neck are reddish brown, and the back is gray-brown. The chest is pale gray-brown, and the abdomen is white. Both sexes have red, elongated bills with hooked tips and serrated outer edges at the joint. The legs and irises are the same color. They breed from around 50° north latitude to the north. It is a migratory bird that winters in the lakes and coastal waters of North America from southern Europe to the Caspian Sea, East Asia, the Alaska Peninsula to California, and from Nova Scotia in eastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a fish-eater, but also eats insects, shrimp, and frogs. In Japan, birds that breed in the north migrate in the fall and spend the winter mainly in coastal waters around the country. (→ Anatidae)

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

カモ目カモ科。全長 51～62cm。夏羽（→羽衣）の雄は頭部が緑色の金属光沢のある黒で，逆毛を立てたような冠羽（→羽冠）が後頭に伸びる。後頸から背，初列風切羽は黒い。雨覆羽は白く，飛翔中によく目立つ。頸，腹部は白く，胸は赤褐色の地に黒色の細かいまだら模様がある。非繁殖期の雄は雌に似る。雌は頭部と上頸部が赤褐色，背面が灰褐色。胸は淡い灰褐色で，腹部は白い。雌雄とも嘴は赤色で細長く，先がかぎ状に，合わせ目の外縁が鋸状になっている。脚と虹彩も同色。北緯 50°付近から北部で繁殖する。渡り鳥で，ヨーロッパ南部からカスピ海にかけての地域と，東アジア，アラスカ半島からカリフォルニア，カナダ東部のノバスコシアからメキシコ湾にいたる北アメリカの湖沼や沿岸海域で越冬する。魚食性だが昆虫やエビ，カエルなども食べる。日本では北方で繁殖した鳥が秋季に渡来し，おもに各地の沿岸海域で越冬する。（→ガンカモ類）

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

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