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Stejneger's Scoter

Stejneger's Scoter

Melanitta stejnegeri

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Stejneger's Scoter, or Siberian Scoter, is a large sea duck of northern Asia, formerly lumped with the White-winged Scoter. Males are black with a white eye crescent and have a tall bill knob and a long, “Roman-nosed” head profile. It breeds in the far north of Asia east of the Yenisei and winters on temperate Asian coasts as far as China, gathering in tight flocks.

Did you know?

  • It was recognised as a separate species from the White-winged Scoter in the 2010s.
  • Its name honours the zoologist Leonhard Stejneger, who studied the birds of the Commander Islands.

About the species

Identification

The male is a black sea duck with a very tall knob at the base of the bill, which is mostly orange-yellow. The head profile is long and even, “Roman-nosed”, somewhat like an Eider's. The male White-winged Scoter has a more stepped profile and lower knob, and browner flanks. The feathering at the base of the upper mandible forms a right angle in White-winged Scoter but a clearly acute angle in Stejneger's Scoter. It shows the white wing patch typical of its group in flight.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

black, white, orange, yellow

About the habitat

Breeds by lakes and rivers in the taiga and tundra of northern Asia; winters on temperate Asian coasts.

Diet

In fresh water mainly crustaceans and insects; at sea molluscs and crustaceans taken by diving.

Behaviour

A gregarious sea duck that forms dense flocks on coastal waters and often takes off in unison. It migrates between far-northern breeding areas and temperate wintering grounds.

Sources

Photo: Валерия Ковалева, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melanitta stejnegeri 223375338 (cropped) 3.jpg

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stejneger%27s_scoter

See also