W3901A

Migratory Bird

Hooded Merganser - White-tailed Deer

Summer 2026 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 32 W3901a — Federal Duck Stamp 2005 — Hooded Mergansers with deer vignette — 6/30/05

This stunning stamp shows two male hooded mergansers swimming side by side on the mirrored surface of still water awash in the soft warm glow of an early sunrise. The cachet shows a close-up sideview of a male hooded merganser in front of a Pond. There is a small vignette of a deer added. One of six different animal stamps was used to cover the postage requirement on each cover, and the small drawing corresponds to the extra stamp used on the corresponding FDC. The very large cancel is a drawing of a merganser. A three-line pictorial cancel says, "DUCK STAMP STATION — Washington, D.C. 20066 — June 30, 2005."

The hooded merganser is a species of flesh-eating duck. It is striking in appearance with both males and females having crests that they can raise or lower, and the breeding plumage of the male is handsomely patterned and colored. Hooded mergansers are the second-smallest species of merganser, and it is the only merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America. They prefer to live on small bodies of water such as ponds and small estuaries where there is ample aquatic vegetation. The hooded merganser is a diving duck that largely hunts by sight while under water. This cover with the deer vignette has not been previously offered in a mail sale. When the Merganser cover with chipmunk vignette was offered in my Winter 2026 mail sale,