Hooded mergansers are charming little birds, the smallest of the three merganser species.   Males have a flamboyant white head-ruff that can be flared or folded; females also have a crest but are brownish-gray overall (a molting male is at bottom left).  A couple of these are captives (including the molting male); most are wild birds wintering on ponds and small lakes in San Diego, CA, a small county park in Riverside, California, or on my University of California campus in Riverside.

• digital captures, Canon 1D Mk II, 1D3, 7D, or 1D4; 500 mm f4 IS or 800 mm lenses, some with 1.4X converter and/or fill-in flash (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011)