This bird looks like a hooded merganser but he’s not quite right.  His crest says “female plumage,” his neck and chest say “male.”

This is a yearling male changing into breeding plumage in April.  At one year old male hooded mergansers are part way to breeding plumage and look confusing, though the mergansers themselves know who’s who.

In late fall these young ducks are only six months old and look even more like females from a distance.

Don’t get mixed up by this duck.  Look closely at “female” hooded mergansers for clues to their identity.

(photo by Dick Daniels via Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)