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Red-breasted merganser
Mergus serrator
species of Anatidae

2nd cy male
number longest
primary 10 per wing 158.0 - 189.5mm n=9
P9 (100%)
secondary 18 per wing 98.0 - 129.5mm n=8
S14 (50%) S13 (38%) S15 (13%)
retrix 18
81.5 - 107.5mm n=6
R1 (33%) R2 (33%) R3 (17%) R1=R2 (17%)
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
212 - 248mm n=10 46 - 50% n=8 39 - 43% n=8 ⌀140% no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 212 - 248mm n=9
Featherbase: 222 - 222mm n=1

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 46 - 50% n=8,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



ad. male
immat. female
female
ad. male

country allocations

extant

Afghanistan (vagrant) · Albania · Algeria (vagrant) · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahamas · Bahrain (vagrant) · Belarus · Belgium · Belize (vagrant) · Bermuda · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Canada · Cayman Islands (vagrant) · China · Croatia · Cuba · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Dominican Republic (vagrant) · Egypt · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar (vagrant) · Greece · Greenland · Haiti (vagrant) · Hungary · Iceland · India (vagrant) · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Jordan (vagrant) · Kazakhstan · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait (vagrant) · Kyrgyzstan · Latvia · Lebanon (vagrant) · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg (vagrant) · Malta · Mexico · Moldova, Republic of · Mongolia (vagrant) · Montenegro · Morocco · Nepal (vagrant) · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands (vagrant) · Norway · Oman (vagrant) · Pakistan · Palestine, State of (vagrant) · Philippines (origin uncertain) · Poland · Portugal · Puerto Rico (vagrant) · Romania · Russian Federation · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Saudi Arabia (vagrant) · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Svalbard and Jan Mayen (vagrant) · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic (vagrant) · Taiwan, Province of China · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Turks and Caicos Islands · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates (vagrant) · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · United States of America · Uzbekistan · Virgin Islands, U.S. (vagrant) ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Ducks, geese and swans

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected
  • listed in hunting law