Two Red-breasted Mergansers—one with a Striking Dark Iridescent Green Head

In an image characterized by decorative details and intricate borders, two red-breasted mergansers—one with a striking dark iridescent green head, a distinct white breeding collar, and vivid bright scarlet feet, the other softer with a cinnamon brown head and mottled grey-brown flanks—are dramatically highlighted by dim, cool-toned side lighting from the right, creating a high-contrast chiaroscuro scene before a warm fireplace aglow with a crackling fire and its ornate mantelpiece, all captured with the compressed perspective of a telephoto lens.