Black Scoter
Melanitta americana
Plump diving duck, typically seen in flocks in coastal areas. Males are completely black with bright orange knob on the bill. Females are brown overall with pale cheek and contrasting dark cap. Note potbellied shape and rounded head in flight. Typically coastal, but migrates over land especially in the Northeast U.S. Often gathers in tight flocks. Dives frequently, feeding on aquatic invertebrates. Breeds on ponds in Arctic tundra.
Identification
This large sea duck is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. The adult 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. The adult female averages about 980 g (2.16 lb) and 45 cm (18 in) in length, while the adult male is on average 1,100 g (2.4 lb) and 49 cm (19 in) in length.<p>This species can be distinguished from other scoters, apart from common scoter, by the lack of white anywhere on the drake, and the more extensive pale areas on the female.<p>The black scoter and common scoter have diagnosably distinct vocalisations.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Melanitta americana
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1832)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Melanitta
Range and habitat
The black scoter breeds in the far north of North America in Labrador and Newfoundland to the southeast and northwest of Hudson Bay. It also occurs on the Siberian side of the Bering Straits east of the Yana River. It winters farther south in temperate zones, on the coasts of the northern USA and Canada, on the Pacific coast south to the San Francisco Bay region and on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, and in Asia as far south as China.<p>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.
- Breeding range
- PAL, NA : Yana River to Kamchatka (e Siberia), Alaska e to nw Yukon; e Northwest Territories and sw Nunavut to Newfoundland (c to e Canada)
- Non-breeding range
- to c Japan (w North Pacific coast); Aleutian Is., e North Pacific coast to c California; Newfoundland to n Florida (w North Atlantic coast)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs while migrating or wintering on the sea-coasts, and feeds on insects and their larvae, especially caddisflies, fish eggs and, more rarely, vegetation such as duck weed while nesting on freshwater. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters in winter quarters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together; in the breeding season they are less social. It has been suggested that in coastal waters this species prefers sheltered embayments, and possibly waters that include some mixed depths.<p>Black scoters nest later than most other ducks in North America. Pairs form in late winter or spring. The lined nest is built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. 5–7 eggs are laid. Each eggs weighs from 60–74 g (2.1–2.6 oz), or 8% of the females body weight. The incubation period may range from 27 to 31 days. Females brood their young extensively for about 3 weeks, after which the still flightless young must fend for themselves.<p>The male performs a diagnostic downward head movement when stretching his wings.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Blue-spotted Wood-Dove
Turtur afer
Small, pale, pretty dove. Bill is red with a yellow tip. The small dark iridescent spots on the wing are blue, though this is hard to see. In flight, the wings show rufous patches, and the tail has white tips and a black band. Found in a variety of thick, moist habitats, including lush savannah, forest edge, thickets, and scrub. Song is a long, slowly accelerating series of hollow “hoo” notes. Separated from other wood-doves by its red-and-yellow bill. Generally found in moister habitats than other wood-doves.
Sunda Scops-Owl
Otus lempiji
Small brown owl with large dark eyes and small, soft-looking ear tufts. Dark brown, almost black, eyes separate it from otherwise similar species such as Mountain and Rajah scops-owls. Reddish Scops-Owl is also dark-eyed, but it is darker-faced and tinged with rufous overall. Like most other small scops-owls, Sunda is more readily heard than seen: it gives yelping hoots at widely-spaced intervals. Relatively tolerant of human habitation; often encountered in gardens, plantations, and parks, as well as forests.
African Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone viridis
This remarkable flycatcher occurs in both rufous and white morphs, but it always has grayish underparts and a strong crest. The breeding male has ludicrous central tail feathers, twenty centimeters long, that trail like the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast, while the female lacks the tail streamers and has a smaller crest. Singles and pairs occasionally join flocks in open woodland, riverine forest, and thickets, avoiding lowland evergreen forest. Very vocal, often giving a repeated grating “dzee-zwee” call and a sweet melodic “willie-willie-willie-wee-wooo” song. The very similar Rufous-vented Paradise-Flycatcher differs from African Paradise-Flycatcher by having a rufous undertail and a shorter crest.
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