Mangoverde :: World Bird Guide :: Ducks, Geese and Swans :: Black Scoter
Black Scoter Melanitta nigra
Described by: Lnnaeus (1758)
Alternate common name(s): American Scoter, Common Scoter
Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors
Photographs
 
 
 
 
 
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Range
Nearly holarctic;
(1) N. Iceland, n. Europe from the Faeroe Is., and n. British Isles (n. Scotland and n. Ireland) to Spitsbergen (Svalbard), Scandinavia (Norway, n. and w. Sweden, c. Finland) e. across n. Russia (Novaya Zemlya, Kola Peninsula) generally n. of 60°N to n. Siberia (Lena River and Olenek River).
Winters off the coast of w. Europe from Norway and Denmark in the North Sea and Latvia and Lithuania in the Baltic Sea s. to the Atlantic coast of Spain and nw. Africa from Morocco s. to Mauritania. Occasionally s. to Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
(2) Ne. Asia in e. Siberia from the Lena River e. to Anadyrland, Sakhalin Is., Kamchatka and possibly n. Japan (n. Hokkaido) to nw. Alaska (Cape Lisburne and the Alaska Range s. to the Alaskan Peninsula, Bristol Bay and Kodiak Is.) and locally across n. Canada (s. Keewatin (Windy River), n. Quebec (Leaf Bay) and Newfoundland (Avalon Peninsula, Missen Topsail and near Grand Lake)).
Migration initiated from large gatherings along the s. shore of Hudson Bay and James Bay.
Winters off Aleutians, s. Alaska, w. and e. coasts of North America s. to California and nw. Mexico (Baja), Great Lakes (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario), Virginia, South Carolina and n. Florida. In Asia, s. in e. Siberia (Kamchatka), Kuril Is., e. and s. Korea (Chinhae), Japan, ne. China s. to Jiangsu and the Yangtze River.
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North America n. of Mexican border;
Summer: Aleutians, w. and sc. ALK. N. and ne. QUE and w. LAB.
Winter: along the Pacific coasts of e. Aleutians, s. ALK, w. BCO, WAS, ORG to c. CAL and along the Atlantic coasts of s. NFD, NBR, PEI, NSC, MAE, se. NHP, MAS, RID, CON, NYK (Long Island), NJY, DEL, MYD, VIR, NCA, SCA, GEO to n. FLA and locally along the Gulf coast from nw. FLA, ALA, MIS, LOU to ec. TEX. Some birds winter locally on the e. Great Lakes (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario) off se. ONT, n. IND, n. OHO, nw. PEN and nw. NYK.
Videos
No videos are available for this species
Sounds
Location unknown - Date unknown Source: ETI BioInformatics
References
Clements, James F. Birds of the World: A Checklist. Vista, CA: Ibis Publishing Company, 2000.
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