Swift with the saw Duck bills usually look broad, flattened and rounded. A red-breasted merganser's bill is quite a bit different. In fact, all three species of North American mergansers have very unique bills. They're long, thin and rounded, with a hooked nail at the tip. The bill's edges have sharp points, and for this reason mergansers are nicknamed "saw-bills." Mergansers eat more fish than any other ducks, and their bills are designed to hold this slippery food. Red-breasted mergansers often fish together, forming groups that drive fish into shallow waters to snap them up.

On a power trip The blue-winged teal may not be the biggest duck, but it's the farthest flier. Blue-winged teal are one of the first species of ducks to migrate in fall. They take off from the prairies of Canada and North and South Dakota. Where are they headed? Some stop at the southern edge of the United States. But many keep flying...right across the Gulf of Mexico to South America. It's a trip that stretches thousands of miles from start to finish. For example, blue-winged teal may touch down in Peru after migrating 7,000 miles!

Deep, deep diver Scientists divide ducks into two groups: dabblers and divers. Dabblers dunk their heads beneath shallow waters to grab a meal. Divers go deeper, swimming underwater to find food. Most divers don't go deeper than 20 feet or so. The long-tailed duck goes 10 times that far! This ocean-dwelling duck has been known to dive more than 200 feet! That's about two-thirds the length of a football field! It holds the record for a diving duck.