Common Merganser Female - Vancouver, BC
A female Common Merganser was preening on a rock near the east end of Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. Preening is an important task for most birds but especially water birds that need the oil from the gland on the rear of the bird. You can see where the feathers are ruffled just above the tail where the gland can be found. Males and females are quite different in coloring where the male is bright white with green, the females have more earth tones.