Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East This is the most up-to-date checklist of bird species and subspecies recorded in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, including Iran and the Arabian Peninsula – the ‘greater’ Western Palearctic. How to identify The male common scoter is our only all-black duck, with just a small patch of yellow on the bill. Common Scoter frequency range is just above 2khtz, dropping to 1.5khtz. Floats rather buoyantly on water, often with tail cocked up noticeably.
Common Scoter Melanitta nigra, M F AD BIF1590, 07/04/2013, North Sea, offshore, Mathias Putze Common Scoter call is a simple pyu repeated over and over, with around one second between each call. Learn how to identify Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter and Surf Scoter from each other. My first record was of two birds calling for over a minute as they approached, flew directly over and continued.
Common scoters are commonly spotted as a line of dark ducks flying low over the water, or as large rafts of black ducks bobbing on the sea. Some Common Scoter recordings on Xeno-canto include longer calls, but these are at the same frequency as the peep calls, around 1.8 kHz, and sound like drawn out peep notes, as in this example I recorded in Skagen, Denmark in May 2018. The common scoter (Melanitta nigra) is a large sea duck, 43–54 cm (17–21 in) in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic east to the Olenyok River.The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas, "black", and netta, "duck".The species name is from Latin niger "shining black". Melanitta americana Was once called "Common Scoter," but that name is now restricted to a similar species in the Old World. About. Occurs locally in flocks of hundreds, but also found as singles and small groups. A squat, dark seaduck, the common scoter gathers in flocks of several hundred or even thousands in winter, mostly feeding far out to sea. recorded of the flight altitude of coastal birds in relation to wind direction and speed. In Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata, Common Eider Somateria mollissima and Common Scoter Melanitta nigra the proportion of birds flying into the wind low over the water (0-1.5m) increased with wind speed. Female dark brown overall with pale cheeks.
Female common scoters are dark brown with light whitish cheeks, chin and throat, which contrast with a dark crown. Dives for food, mostly eats mollusks.
The common scoter is an all dark seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face.
They are often seen as large bobbing rafts offshore, or long straggling lines flying along the coast. Common Scoter: Medium-sized diving duck, all black except for small patch of orange on top of black bill. When in flight, the drakes appear all black with a flash of the gray under the wing and bright yellow at the base of the upper bill. Notice also the … The male is the only all black duck in Europe.
The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown. Male common scoters are entirely black except for a yellow protuberance on the base of the bill and the gray lower surface of the flight feathers. Rare Birds of the Canary Islands This book compiles all official rare bird records, including those presently treated as “rarities” by the Spanish Birds Rarities Committee as well as some added by the authors when reliable pictures were available. Legs and feet are black. Common Scoter Flight Characteristics This guide will help you recognize Common Scoter (also called Coots) on the wing - it emphasizes their size, shape, and flight characteristics.
Breeding in Eurasia: n Europe to nc Siberia; can be seen in 57 countries. The Black Scoter is generally seen less often than the other two kinds of scoters in most parts of North America.
Strong direct flight with rapid wing beats. Common Scoter Melanitta nigra, M F AD BIF1589, 24/03/2013, North Sea, offshore, Mathias Putze – AD F dark brown body and crown and, cream-coloured side of the head – AD M jet-black rather stout body and swollen black bill with some orange-yellow. About; Team; Contact; References; Copyright and Privacy; Family