Black or American Scoter
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The Black or American Scoter (Melanitta americana) is a large sea duck, 43-54 cm in length, which breeds over the far north of North America in Alaska, Labrador and Newfoundland, and on Siberia east of the Yana River. Together with the Common Scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, Black Scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana.
It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of the northern USA, Canada, and Asia as far south as China. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. Some birds may over-winter on the Great Lakes. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe; only drakes are safely identifiable out of range, so females are likely to be undetected.
The lined nest is built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. 5-7 eggs are laid.
It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. The male is all black with a very bulbous bill which is mostly yellow. The female is a brown bird with pale cheeks, very similar to female Common Scoter.
This species can be distinguished from other scoters, apart from Common, by the lack of white anywhere on the drake, and the more extensive pale areas on the female.
This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs; it also eats aquatic insects and small fish when on fresh water.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Related Websites: Black Scoter (USGS) ... Black Scoter (Birds of Nova Scotia)
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