View source for Mergini

{{Short description|Tribe of birds}}
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{{Automatic taxobox
| name              = Sea ducks
| image             = Histrionicus histrionicus drake Barnegat.jpg
| image_caption     = [[Harlequin duck]], ''Histrionicus histrionicus'' (male)
| taxon             = Mergini
| authority         = [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision       = 
''[[Clangula]]''<br/>
''[[Histrionicus]]''<br/>
''[[Polysticta]]''<br/>
''[[Somateria]]'' <br/>
''[[Melanitta]]''<br/>
''[[Goldeneye (duck)|Bucephala]]''<br/>
''[[Mergellus]]''<br/>
''[[Lophodytes]]''<br/>
''[[Mergus]]''<br/>
†''[[Camptorhynchus]]''
}}

The '''sea ducks''' ('''Mergini''') are a tribe of the [[duck]] subfamily of [[bird]]s, the [[Anatinae]]. The taxonomy of this group is incomplete. Some authorities separate the group as a subfamily, while others remove some genera. Most species within the group spend their winters near coastal waters. Many species have developed specialized salt glands to allow them to tolerate salt water, but these are poorly developed in juveniles. Some of the species prefer riverine habitats. All but two of the 22 species in this group live in far northern latitudes.

The fish-eating members of this group, such as the [[Mergus|mergansers]] and [[smew]], have serrated edges to their bills to help them grip their prey and are often known as "sawbills". Other sea ducks forage by diving underwater, taking molluscs or crustaceans from the sea floor. The Mergini take on the [[Plumage#Eclipse plumage|eclipse plumage]] during the late summer and molt into their breeding plumage during the winter.

==Species==
There are twenty-two species in ten [[genus|genera]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Genus   !! Living species
|-
|[[File:Clangula hyemalis Hokkaido25 (cropped).jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Clangula]]'' {{au|Leach, 1819}}||
* [[Long-tailed duck]] (formerly [[oldsquaw]]) (''Clangula hyemalis'')
|-
|[[File:Harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) (13022042595).jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Histrionicus]]'' {{au|Lesson, 1828}}||
* [[Harlequin duck]] (''Histrionicus histrionicus'')
|-
|[[File:Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri) (13667583535).jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Polysticta]]'' {{au|Eyton, 1836}}||
*[[Steller's eider]] (''Polysticta stelleri'') 
|-
|[[File:Somateria spectabilis 389138499.jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Somateria]]'' {{au|Leach, 1819}}||
* [[Spectacled eider]] (''Somateria fischeri'') 
* [[Common eider]] (''Somateria mollissima'')
* [[King eider]] (''Somateria spectabilis'')
|-
|[[File:WWT Arundel (2552).jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Melanitta]]'' {{au|F. Boie, 1822}}||
* [[Common scoter]] (''Melanitta nigra'')
* [[Black scoter]] or [[American scoter]] (''Melanitta americana'') (sometimes considered a [[subspecies]] of ''M. nigra'')
* [[Velvet scoter]] (''Melanitta fusca'') 
* [[White-winged scoter]] (''Melanitta deglandi'')  (sometimes considered a subspecies of ''M. fusca'') 
*[[Stejneger's scoter]] (''Melanitta stejnegeri'')
* [[Surf scoter]] (''Melanitta perspicillata'')
|-
|[[File:Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) RWD2.jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Goldeneye (duck)|Bucephala]]'' {{au|S.F. Baird, 1858}}||
*[[Common goldeneye]] (''Bucephala clangula'')
*[[Barrow's goldeneye]] (''Bucephala islandica'')
*[[Bufflehead]] (''Bucephala albeola'')
|-
|[[File:Mergellus albellus Oulu Finland 2020-05-08.jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Mergellus]]'' {{au|Selby, 1840}}||
* [[Smew]] (''Mergellus albellus'')
|-
|[[File:Hooded Merganser pair.JPG|250px]]|| ''[[Lophodytes]]'' {{au|Reichenbach, 1853}}||
* [[Hooded merganser]] (''Lophodytes cucullatus'')
|-
|[[File:Scaly-sided Merganser RWD.jpg|250px]]|| ''[[Mergus]]'' {{au|Linnaeus, 1758}}||
* [[Red-breasted merganser]] (''Mergus serrator'')
* †[[New Zealand merganser]] (''Mergus australis'')
* [[Common merganser]] or [[goosander]] (''Mergus merganser'')
* [[Brazilian merganser]] (''Mergus octosetaceus'') 
* [[Scaly-sided merganser]] (''Mergus squamatus'')
|-
|[[File:Camptorhynchus labradorius (pair) -John James Audubon.jpg|250px]]|| †''[[Camptorhynchus]]'' {{au|}}||
* †[[Labrador duck]] (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') ([[extinct]]) 
|-
|}


Below is a phylogeny based on a mitogenomic study of the placement of the Labrador duck and the diving "goose" ''[[Chendytes]] lawi''.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Janet C. Buckner |author2=Ryan Ellingson |author3=David A. Gold |author4=Terry L. Jones |author5=David K. Jacobs |year=2018 |title=Mitogenomics supports an unexpected taxonomic relationship for the extinct diving duck ''Chendytes lawi'' and definitively places the extinct Labrador Duck |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=122 |pages= 102–109|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.008 |pmid=29247849 |url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/ssci_fac/99 }}</ref>
{{clade| style=font-size:100%; line-height:100%;
|label1=Mergini
|1={{Clade
   |1={{Clade
   |label1=
   |1={{Clade
      |1=''[[Long-tailed duck|Clangula hyemalis]]''
      |2={{Clade
         |1=''[[Harlequin duck|Histrionicus histrionicus]]''
         |2={{Clade
            |1={{Clade
            |label1=
            |1={{Clade
               |1=''[[Steller's eider|Polysticta stelleri]]''
               |2=†''[[Labrador duck|Camptorhynchus labradorius]]'' }} }}
            |2={{Clade
               |1=''[[Spectacled eider|Somateria fischeri]]''
               |2={{Clade
                  |1=''[[Common eider|Somateria mollissima]]''
                  |2=''[[King eider|Somateria spectabilis]]'' }} }} }} }} }} }}
            |2={{Clade
               |1={{Clade
               |label1=
               |1={{Clade
                  |1=''[[Common scoter|Melanitta nigra]]''
                  |2={{Clade
                     |1=''[[White-winged scoter|Melanitta deglandi]]''
                     |2=''[[Surf scoter|Melanitta perspicillata]]''}} }} }}            
               |label2=
               |2={{Clade
                  |1={{Clade
                  |label1=
                  |1={{Clade
                     |1=''[[Bufflehead|Bucephala albeola]]''
                     |2={{Clade
                        |1=''[[Common goldeneye|Bucephala clangula]]''
                        |2=''[[Barrow's goldeneye|Bucephala islandica]]''}} }} }} 
                  |2={{Clade
                  |label2=
                  |1={{Clade
                     |1=''[[Smew|Mergellus albellus]]''
                     |2={{Clade
                        |1=''[[Red-breasted merganser|Mergus serrator]]''
                        |2=''[[Hooded merganser|Lophodytes cucullatus]]''
                        |3={{Clade 
                           |1=''[[Common merganser|Mergus merganser]]''
                           |2={{Clade 
                              |1=''[[Brazilian merganser|Mergus octosetaceus]]''
                              |2=''[[Scaly-sided merganser|Mergus squamatus]]'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

==References==
{{Commons|Merginae}}
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* [http://seaducks.org/ SeaDucks.org - Science and Management Reference]
{{Refend}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q33176341}}

[[Category:Mergini| ]]