An extremely rare and scarcely seen to visit Bangladeshi water-bodies, the Common Merganser or Goosander, a large duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America, was recently detected by bird-watchers in the river Padma near Rajshahi. As the bird visits seldom and very irregularly in the country, it has no Bangla name yet. However, to the Ornithologists, the bird is known as common Merganser or simply as Merganser.
The colour of eyelids, legs and soles of legs are red and bright orange. The meaning of scientific name of Merganser is akin to Wild Swan or Raj Hangshi. Usually, a resident of a turbulent river traversing along mountains and hills, this bird is watched for the first time in Rajshahi. However, Orinthologists here said, this is for the third time this bird was visible in Bangladesh.
In the later afternoon of December 29 in 2019, Prof M Monirul H. Khan, also a bird-lover, was visiting riverside of Padma to watch a bird named 'Baikal Teal', another rare species of duck. Bird lover Nur-A-Saud had watched the Baikal Teal or Baikal Tilihas in the river Padma on December 7.
Being informed, Monirul H Khan came to Rajshahi from Dhaka and with Nur-A-Saud and veterinarian Mainul Ahsan, he was searching for the bird. They failed to detect the Baikal Teal but in the late afternoon, they discovered a pair of new species of duck which was not ever seen earlier in Rajsahi and that pair was grand and unique, irregular and extremely rare migratory bird- the Common Merganser.
Earlier the bird was seen two times in Thakurgaon and in Sylhet.
The Common Merganser usually lives near river and canals and lives on fish. It usually hunts fish by diving in the water. In spite of fishes of various varieties, it also eats aquatic insects, shrimp, snails, frogs, small birds, small mammals and leaves of various trees. It breeding season starts in June and the female bird prepares nest with leaves and grass inside the tree-holes.
The colour of its eggs is darkish red and a female duck can lay 6 to 17 eggs. The ducklings hatched from the eggs after 28-32 days. A full grown bird is 1.5 kilogramme in weight and 53 to 69 cm in length.
