Waterbirds · Netherlands
Smew
Nonnetje · Mergellus albellus
Through my lens
A small white duck from the north
A drake Smew looks as if it was cut from porcelain: white, with fine black lines, a black patch around the eye and a black back. The female is grey with a chestnut cap and white cheeks, which is why birders call her a "redhead".
Smew breed in the northern taiga of Scandinavia and Russia, nesting in tree holes. In winter they come south to large lakes, rivers and flooded gravel pits, and when the water up north freezes, more of them turn up.
They are sawbills, like the Goosander and the Red-breasted Merganser, and dive for small fish with a slim bill edged with fine serrations.
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