Stejneger's Scoter
Melanitta stejnegeri
Large scoter with distinctive white patch on wing. Males are black and have small white mark under eye, dark knob on the bill, and red-and-orange bill tip. Females are dark chocolate-brown and have two rounded white patches on face. Extremely similar to White-winged Scoter: note male’s much more angular head structure with steeper and more prominent protuberance and different bill coloration. Female is much more difficult to identify, but has more swollen-looking protuberance. Breeds in Russian tundra and taiga pools and lakes, winters on the coast; only very occasionally reported inland in the winter.
Identification
There are a number of differing characteristics of Stejneger's scoter and the white-winged scoter. Males of the white-winged scoter have browner flanks, dark yellow coloration of most of the bill and a less tall bill knob, approaching the velvet scoter. The male Stejneger's scoter has a very tall knob at the base of its mostly orange-yellow bill. The males of both species are very similar and best distinguished by head shape; White-winged scoters tend to have "two-stepped" profile between the bill and the head, compared to the long "Roman nose" profile of Stejneger's scoter similar to that of a common eider. Additionally, the feathering along the base of the upper mandible forms a right angle on the white-winged scoter, compared to the acute angle on the Stejneger's scoter.
Taxonomy
Stejneger's scoter was described by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1887 and given the binomial name Oidemia stejnegeri. The specific name was chosen to honour the Norwegian born ornithologist Leonhard Stejneger.<p>It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-winged scoter. It was suggested to be a full species, according to a new study.
- Scientific name
- Melanitta stejnegeri
- Authority
- (Ridgway, 1887)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Melanitta
Range and habitat
Stejneger's scoter breeds over the far north of Asia east of the Yenisey Basin. It winters further south in temperate zones, in 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.<p>Though previously considered rare in North America, Stejneger's scoter may be a regular visitor and possible breeder in Western Alaska, with sightings in Nome, Saint Paul Island and Gambell. A Stejneger's Scoter was seen in Helena Valley, Montana between April and May 2015, the only confirmed North American occurrence of the species south of Alaska. A scoter seen in Monterey Bay, California on January 15, 2014, appeared to have characteristics consistent with Stejneger's scoter but the record was not accepted by the committee due to the poor quality of images. Stejneger’s scoter is also a rare vagrant to Europe and has been recorded from France, Finland, Poland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Scotland.
- Breeding range
- PAL : Yenisey Basin to Kamchatka (c, e Siberia), ne Kazakhstan and n, w Mongolia
- Non-breeding range
- to Kuril and Commander Is. (se Russia), coasts of Japan and e Korean Pen. (ne Pacific)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
In freshwater, this species primarily feeds on crustaceans and insects; while in saltwater areas, it feeds on molluscs and crustaceans.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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