ii. Never inland. It was composed externally of small sticks, moss, and grasses, lined with down, in smaller quantity than that found in the nest of the bird just mentioned, and mixed with feathers. In North America, black scoters breed in western and southern Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and scattered areas in central and eastern Canada, including southern Keewatin, northern Quebec and Newfoundland. I afterwards found a female with seven young ones, of which she took such effectual care that none of them fell into our hands. On land it moves more awkwardly than the Eider Duck, but in diving it is perhaps superior to that species. The bronchi, however, are of very large size, being 1 inch 4 twelfths long, their greatest breadth 1/2 inch. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk. The white-winged scoter is the largest of the three North American scoter species. Lower mandible flattened, with the angle long and rather narrow, the dorsal line slightly convex, the edges parallel, the tip rounded, the unguis very broadly elliptical. They also are found (and may breed) from southern Yukon and Mackenzie east to Labrador and Newfoundland. However, available population data are generally inadequate for reliable determination of a population trend. The Black Scoter, Melanitta nigra, drake appears all black in flight except for an orange (or bright yellow) knob at the base of its bill and the flash of a slight gray underwing. Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 17, to end of claws 20; extent of wings 33 1/2; bill along the ridge 1 11/12; wing from flexure 9 4/12; tail 4; bare part of tibia 4/12; tarsus 1 9/12; hind toe (8 1/2)/12, its claw (2 1/2)/12; second toe 2 2/12, its claw 4/12; third toe 2 9/12, its claw (5 1/2)/12; fourth toe 2 11/12, its claw (3 1/4)/12. They migrate to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts from breeding areas in northwestern Canada and Alaska.
There is less difference in the colour of the plumage however, than has been represented; for adult males of this species are not sooty-brown above, but deep black. The general colour of the plumage is black, on the lower parts tinged with brown; the inner webs of the quills brownish-grey. The stomach is a strong gizzard of moderate size, 1 1/2 inches in length, and 1 inch 10 twelfths in breadth; its left lateral muscle 10 twelfths in thickness, the other 9 twelfths; the epithelium tough, dense, forming two roundish slightly concave grinding surfaces. Their diet also includes small amounts of eelgrass, muskgrass, wigeon grass, pondweeds and algae found in inland habitats. Neck short and thick.
Black scoters dive to feed on mollusks, crustaceans and small fish found in marine and freshwater habitats. It is indeed very remarkable that this species, so nearly allied to the Velvet and Surf Ducks, should present no dilatations, either at the upper larynx, or in the course of the trachea, as are seen in them. The male's strong head pattern earns the species the hunters' nickname of "skunk-head coot."
Adult Male. Feet very short, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short, much compressed, having anteriorly in its whole length a series of small scutella and above the outer toe a partial series, the rest covered with reticular angular scales. In winter abundant in the Bays of Boston, New York, and Chesapeake, and as far south as the mouth of the Mississippi. Male white-winged scoters are entirely black with white eye patches. Tail very short, graduated, acuminate, of sixteen pointed feathers. They breed in far northern Canada and Alaska, where … Silent at most times of year. The coeca, which come off at the distance of 4 inches from the extremity of the gut, are 8 inches in length, 2 1/2 twelfths in their greatest diameter, with the extremity obtuse. Bill a little shorter than the head, very broad, higher than broad at the base, much depressed toward the end, which is semi-elliptical. They also are found (and may breed) from southern Yukon and Mackenzie east to Labrador and Newfoundland. Female white-winged scoters are a dark brownish-black color with two whitish patches on the sides of their heads, in front of and behind the eye. National Audubon Society
It is an elusive species often found in mixed flocks. A few pairs breed on the shores of Labrador, but the great body of these birds proceed farther north, although the limits of their migration in that direction are as yet unknown. Black Scoter: Medium diving duck, entirely black except for yellow knob at base of black bill. Legs and feet are black. The common scoter is an all dark seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face. The legs and feet are dull orange and the iris is brown. SCOTER DUCK, Anas nigra, Wils.
American Scoter, Swains. When feeding, they usually spring forward and dive with the wings partly opened. Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives. 117. The large white speculum on the black wing make this species the easiest to identify while in flight. However, midwinter inventories indicate a declining trend from 1954 to 1994. I have given figures of the adult male and female, but am not acquainted with the changes which the plumage undergoes.
The white-winged scoter is the largest of the three North American scoter species. Biog., vol. Female white-winged scoters typically nest beneath dense vegetation and lay an average of 9 eggs. AMERICAN SCOTER DUCK, Fuligula americana, Aud. Another Reason to Like Lyrebirds: They Move Tons of Dirt, Keeping Forests Healthy, Duck Stamp Artists Turn to Spent Shotgun Shells to Meet New Pro-Hunting Mandate, A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores, Three Ways You Can Do Bird Science From Your Couch, How Nature Journaling Can Make You a Better Birder, Help power unparalleled conservation work for birds across the Americas, Stay informed on important news about birds and their habitats, Receive reduced or free admission across our network of centers and sanctuaries, Access a free guide of more than 800 species of North American birds, Discover the impacts of climate change on birds and their habitats, Learn more about the birds you love through audio clips, stunning photography, and in-depth text. The male differs from that of the other species in having the sides of the unguis narrowed, and the orange patch on the upper mandible less extended beyond the nostrils, and destitute of the median black line and lateral streak. One of a nine-member clan of hardy, ocean-going ducks, this is the most common sea duck where I live in California. View more species in our Waterfowl ID gallery. Black scoters are among the most vocal of waterfowl species. Floats rather buoyantly on water, often with tail cocked up noticeably. Its rings are but partially ossified, being cartilaginous at the back part. This scoter is very vocal, often being located from miles away by their constant, melodious whistle. The upper parts are of a light sooty-brown colour, the lower light brownish-grey. On northern waters, more vocal than the other two scoters, giving clear whistled calls. The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown. Hind toe small, with a free membrane beneath; anterior toes nearly double the length of the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes having a sinus on their free margins, the inner with a lobed marginal membrane, the outer with a thick margin, the third and fourth about equal and longest.
Consider the lowly scoter. Photo: Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards, Great Egret. The trachea of the male of this species merely resembles that of the female of the other species. OIDEMIA AMERICANA, Swains.
Eyes of moderate size. The female, which is a little smaller than the male, has scarcely any protuberance at the base of the bill, which is entirely brownish-black. The contractor muscles are strong, and terminate at the commencement of the lower larynx.
The contents of the stomach are particles of quartz. Photo by Hank Shaw. During 1955-'73, estimates of the white-winged scoter population ranged from 555,000 to 675,000 birds. Nostrils medial, elliptical, pervious, near the ridge. About the Black Scoter Breeding. Their food consists of shell-fish of small size, marine plants, and insects. AMERICAN SCOTER DUCK, Fuligula americana, Nutt. The legs and feet are reddish-orange with dusky webs and the iris is pale gray. 9 oz. The winter range of white-winged scoters includes the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, where they prefer coastal environments, especially bays and inlets. Wings rather short narrow, and pointed; primary quills curved, strong, tapering, pointed, the first with the inner web cut out towards the tip, leaving the feather less than a quarter of an inch in breadth at the distance of an inch and a half from its extremity; the second longest, exceeding the first by half an inch, and the third by one-twelfth, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad and rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. It sometimes happens that during violent gales the Scoter is forced into freshwater rivers, from which, however, it returns to the salt bays, inlets, or outer sandy shallows of the coast, as soon as the weather permits. Length to end of tail 17 inches; extent of wings 29 3/4. Legal Notices Privacy Policy Contact Us. They favor large brackish or freshwater wetlands and lakes in their breeding range, with the highest concentrations on lakes that have islands covered with dense, low shrubs, or herbaceous vegetation. choose your state. FULIGULA NIGRA, Bonap. In this species, as in others, the male forsakes the female as soon as incubation commences. Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Photo: Dick Dickinson/Audubon Photography Awards. and Rich. Claws small, that of the first toe very small and curved, of the middle toe largest, with a dilated inner edge, of the rest slender, all rather obtuse. Amer., vol. It has been supposed that we have two species confounded under the common name of Scoter; but I have not succeeded in finding more than one, and my zealous young friend, Dr. THOMAS M. BREW, of Boston, who is quite competent to the task, has been equally unsuccessful, although in the course of the last two years he has examined a great number of individuals.
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