{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | name = Black scoter | image = Black Scoter From The Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds.jpg | image_caption = | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2021 |title=''Melanitta americana'' |article-number=e.T22732425A178236617 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22732425A178236617.en}}</ref> | genus = Melanitta | parent = Melanitta (Oidemia) | species = americana | authority = (Swainson, 1832) | synonyms = ''Melanitta nigra americana'' | range_map = Melanitta americana map.svg }}
The '''black scoter''' or '''American scoter''' ('''''Melanitta americana''''') is a large sea duck, {{convert|43|to|49|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek {{Lang|grc-Latn|melas}} "black" and {{Lang|grc-Latn|netta}} "duck". The species name is from the Latin for "American".<ref name= job90>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n44 44], 246}}</ref>
Together with the common scoter ''M. nigra'', it forms the subgenus ''Oidemia''; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the black scoter then being referred to as ''M. nigra americana''. Its French name, used in parts of its Canadian range, is '''{{Lang|fr|macreuse noire}}''' (also meaning "black scoter").<ref name="SDJV" /> The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.
==Description== 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 {{convert|980|g|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, while the adult male is on average {{convert|1100|g|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|49|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length.
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 87%;" |- ! colspan="2" | Standard Measurements<ref name=BOC /><ref name=Sibley /> |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | length || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|17|-|21.5|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | weight || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|950|g|lb|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | wingspan || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|28|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | wing || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|213|-|233|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | tail || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|83|-|97|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | culmen || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|42|-|45.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | tarsus || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|45|-|48.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} |}
===Vocalisations=== The black scoter and common scoter have diagnosably distinct vocalisations.<ref name=Sangster/>
==Distribution 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 US 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.<ref name=SDJV/><ref name=Littlejohn/>
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.
==Ecology== [[File:BlackScoter mosbo6.jpg|thumb|Female black scoter photographed in Ottawa, Ontario]] 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.<ref name=Deghi/><!-- only references this sentence(?) -->
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 {{convert|60|-|74|g|oz|abbr=on}}, or 8% of the females body weight,{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}} and measure 6.26–6.53 cm (2.5–2.6 in) in length and 4.4–4.5 cm (1.7–1.8 in) in width.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Scoter Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Scoter/lifehistory |access-date=2026-05-30 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref> 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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}
The male performs a diagnostic downward head movement when stretching his wings.<ref name=Sibley/>
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=BOC>{{cite book |last=Godfrey |first=W. Earl |date=1966 |title=The Birds of Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=National Museum of Canada |page=358}}</ref>
<ref name=Deghi>{{Cite report |last=Deghi |first=Gary |date=1998 |title=Environmental Impact Report for the Pillar Point East Harbor Master Plan |location=San Mateo County Harbor District |publisher=Earth Metrics Inc.|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
<ref name=Littlejohn>Some unusual records for San Mateo County, California. Abstract in: {{cite journal |last=Littlejohn |first=Chase |year=1916 |title=Minutes of Cooper Club Meetings |journal=Condor |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=38–40 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/node/95819 |doi=10.2307/1362896|jstor=1362896 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
<ref name=Sangster>{{cite journal |last=Sangster |first=George |year=2009 |title=Acoustic Differences between the Scoters ''Melanitta nigra nigra'' and ''M. n. americana'' |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=121 |issue=4 |pages=696–702 |doi=10.1676/04-088.1|s2cid=59519919 }}</ref>
<ref name=SDJV>{{Cite web |publisher=Sea Duck Joint Venture |year=2003 |url=http://seaduckjv.org/meet-the-sea-ducks/black-scoter/ |title=Black Scoter (''Melanitta nigra'') |work=Sea Duck Information Series |access-date=15 November 2006}}</ref>
<ref name=Sibley>{{cite book |last=Sibley |first=David Allen |author-link=David Allen Sibley |date=2000 |title=The Sibley Guide to Birds |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/98 98] |isbn=0-679-45122-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/98 }}</ref> }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Melanitta americana}} {{Wikispecies|Melanitta americana}} * [https://seaduckjv.org/meet-the-sea-ducks/black-scoter/ Black Scoter Species Account and Photo Gallery] – Sea Duck Joint Venture * {{EBirdSpecies|blksco1|Common Scoter}} * {{VIREO|Black+Scoter}} * [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Scoter Black Scoter Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology * {{IUCN_Map|22732425/178236617|Melanitta americana}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q529048}} {{Authority control}}
black scoter black scoter Category:Native birds of Alaska Category:Birds of North Asia Category:Native birds of Eastern Canada black scoter Category:Taxa named by William Swainson