Scoter
| Scoters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult male white-winged scoter (Melanitta deglandi) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Merginae |
| Genus: | Melanitta F. Boie, 1822[1] |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Oidemia | |
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus Melanitta. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills. Females are brown. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck".[2]
They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and winter farther south in temperate zones of those continents. They form large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together.
Their lined nests are built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. These species dive for crustaceans and molluscs.
Species
There are five species,[1] grouped into two subgenera:
- Subgenus Oidemia:
- Melanitta americana – black or American scoter
- Melanitta nigra – common scoter
- Subgenus Melanitta:
- Melanitta fusca – velvet scoter
- Melanitta deglandi – white-winged scoter
- Melanitta perspicillata – surf scoter
The presumed fossil "scoter" Melanitta ceruttii, which lived in California during the Late Pliocene, is now placed in the genus Histrionicus.