Swimming Silhouettes

Many birds are often seen floating on the water and can be identified by their silhouettes. Characteristics to look for include how high in the water the bird sits, if the tail is high or low, and the shape of the head. Look for these birds in Lake County:

Double-crested cormorant:

• Sits very low
• Long neck with head tilted up
• Tail underwater
• Common in spring and fall

double-crested cormorant silhouette

double-crested cormorant

Red-breasted merganser

• Sits low 
• Large crest behind head
• Tail held low
• Common in winter

red-breasted merganser silhouette

red-breasted merganser

Lesser scaup:

• Sits low
• Tail held low
• Other diving ducks have a similar silhouette
• Common in winter

lesser scaup silhouette

lesser scaup

Common loon:

• Sits low
• Tail held low
• Common in winter

common loon silhouette

common loon

Mallard:

• Sits high
• Tail held high
• Other dabbling ducks have a similar silhouette
• Common

mallard silhouette

mallard

Did you know?

Ducks are divided into two main groups. Dabblers feed near the surface and divers feed completely underwater. Dabblers include mallards while divers include mergansers and scaup.