Black Scoter

Melanitta nigra

Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anatinae

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A coastal duck that breeds in the subarctic, the Black Scoter is not well studied in North America. Only a few nests have ever been found.

Cool Facts

• The Black Scoter is divided into two subspecies. In the form found in Europe, the "Common Scoter," the male has a larger swollen knob at the base of the upper bill that is black on the sides with a yellow stripe on top, not entirely yellow.
• The Black Scoter occasionally does a "Wing-flap" display while swimming, flapping its wings with its body held up out of the water. Unlike other scoters, it almost always punctuates a Wing-flap with a characteristic downward thrust of head, as if its neck were momentarily broken. Surf and White-winged scoters keep their heads and bills pointing more or less above the horizontal throughout a Wing-flap.

• The Black Scoter is among the most vocal of waterfowl. Groups of Black Scoters often can be located by the constant mellow, plaintive whistling sound of the males.

Description

• Size: 43-53 cm (17-21 in)
• Wingspan: 84 cm (33 in)
• Weight: 862-1270 g (30.43-44.83 ounces)

• Stocky diving duck.
• Black.
• No white in wings.
• Male all black with swollen yellow or orange knob at base of bill.
• Female blackish with large whitish face patch.

• Eyes dark brown.
• Legs brownish black, joints darker.

Sex Differences

Male solid black with bright knob at base of bill, female more brown, with large whitish face patch and without bill knob.

Male

Black with metallic gloss. Side and flank feathers long and pointed. Eyelids yellow. Swollen orange-yellow knob on base of upper bill, divided by black along middle of upper surface.

Female

Sooty brownish. Dark cap contrasting sharply with pale grayish brown feathers on rest of head. Sides and flanks paler with indistinct barring. Bill not swollen or only slightly, may have hint of yellow.

Immature

Similar to adult female but with white belly.

Similar Species

• Female Surf Scoter has a similar capped look with whitish cheeks, but does not have completely clean cheeks, and has a more stepped forehead. Surf Scoter male has orange on its bill, but generally shows some white there and white patches on the head.
• Female White-winged Scoter has whitish patches on a dark face, a sloped profile, and large white wing patches.
• Winter Ruddy Duck shows white cheeks, but is smaller, paler, and has a light chest.

Sound

Wings make whistling noise in flight. Male gives clear whistle in courtship. Female give grating "kraaa."

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in Alaska and northern Quebec and Labrador. Also across northern Eurasia.

Winter Range

Winters along Pacific and Atlantic coasts from Alaska and Newfoundland southward to Mexico and northern Florida. Also from Siberia to China and from northern Europe to northern Africa.

Habitat

Breeds on small lakes. Winters in coastal waters, especially over rocky bottoms.

Food

Aquatic invertebrates, especially aquatic insects and mollusks, a little vegetation.

Behavior

Foraging

Dives for prey on or near bottom.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Hollow in ground near water, lined with grass and down, placed in large clumps of grass on tundra.

Egg Description

Off-white to pinkish buff.

Clutch Size

Usually 8-9 eggs. Range: 5-10.

Condition at Hatching

Downy and eyes open. Leave nest soon after they dry. Feed themselves immediately.

Conservation Status

Common. Populations may be declining.

Other Names

Macreuse à bec jaune (French)
Negrón común (Spanish)
Common Scoter (British) (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Bellrose, F. C. 1976. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.
2. Bordage, D., and J. L. Savard. 1995. Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra). In The Birds of North America, No. 177 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists? Union, Washington, D.C.