My first thought was hooded hen but I hedged. Darn.
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Hooded merganser hen or juvenile.
Despicable for someone to shoot and not keep.
Not as tasty as a mallard or teal but...
They are perfectly good to eat especially in an Asian stir fry, casserole, sausage
yup it's a merganser. and it should be included in someones bag limit for the day. but because they have a bad rap about how they taste some people [notice I said people not hunters] like to shot them just for target practice.
A lot of assumptions being made here. My bet is it was a lost cripple.
S.
I have no issues with their taste. in fact some have tasted better than a few bufflehead I have tried. It all is about diet really.
W.
May have been a lost / crippled bird but it still has to be included in your bag for the day......
It does? I know that's the gentlemanly thing to do, but I don't think it has to be.
Also, I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Someone shot it, it dove , grabbed on to something under-water and held on until it died and eventually floated to shore. I've lost many a diver and puddle duck that never re-surfaced after diving (also didn't count them in my daily limit).