Breeding
Depending on the availability of suitable nesting and feeding sites, Brazilian Merganser pairs occupy permanent territories of eight to seventeen kilometer stretches of rivers. Tree cavities, rock crevices, or disused burrows predominantly made by armadillos are the ideal places for these mergansers to build their nests. It is thought the breeding season is during the austral winter, when rain is minimal and water levels are low, but it may vary geographically. The Brazilian Merganser usually lays three to six eggs in June and July, with the chicks hatching during the following July and August. The young are capable of flight by September and/or October. Only the female birds incubate the eggs, but both parents care for the young. This is a very unusual behavior in ducks for both parents to help raise the young birds including direct provision of food to young. Adult Brazilian Mergansers are believed to remain on the same territory all year round, but there is not very much information about their movements and dispersal, so information on this is presently speculative in nature.
Fish is the Brazilian Merganser main food, and they also eat Mollusks, insects and their larvae. The birds, usually in pairs, capture fish by diving in river rapids and backwater.
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