White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter, adult male; Washington; late November.

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large black duck of coastal waters, the White-winged Scoter breeds farther inland than the other two scoter species and is the one most likely to appear inland on lakes and rivers during migration.

Description

• Large, stocky diving duck.
• Black.
• White patch in wings.
• Male with white comma-shaped patch around eyes.
• Female with whitish patches on face.

• Size: 48-58 cm (19-23 in)
• Wingspan: 80 cm (31 in)
• Weight: 950-1800 g (33.54-63.54 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male solid black with white mark around eyes, female more brownish with two variable whitish patches on face.

Sound

Usually silent. Wings make quiet whistling noise in flight. Male has bell-like note in courtship. Female makes thin whistling note.

Conservation Status

Common. Populations may be declining.

Other Names

Macreuse à ailes blanches (French)
Negretta aliblanca (Spanish)
Velvet Scoter (British) (English)

Cool Facts

• Although the White-winged Scoter winters primarily along the coasts, small numbers winter on the eastern Great Lakes. Populations on the Great Lakes may have declined during the 1970s, but appear to be increasing in response to the invasion of the zebra mussel, a new and abundant food source.
• The White-winged Scoter often nests in association with gull breeding colonies. Although the gulls would happily eat the eggs and chicks of the scoter, the dense vegetation where the scoter nests keeps them safe.

• The White-winged Scoters found in North America and eastern Asia differ from those found in Europe in the structure of the bill and trachea of the male. The European "Velvet Scoter" male has only a slight swelling on the top of the bill, and the bill is yellow, not orange. The two forms sometimes are regarded as distinct species.

Sources used to construct this page:

Brown, P. W., and L. H. Fredrickson. 1997. White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca). In The Birds of North America, No. 274 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.