Common Scoter
The Common Scoter is a medium-sized, rather stocky sea duck with a relatively long, pointed tail which is often held up when the bird is sitting on water.
The scientific name of the Common Scoter, nigra, comes from the Latin for “black” and refers to the entirely glossy black plumage of the male. The beak of the male Common Scoter is also black with a swollen black knob at the base and a conspicuous patch of yellow on the top. In flight, the slightly paler undersides of the flight feathers contrast with the otherwise dark wings. In summer, the male Common Scoter becomes slightly duller and more mottled in appearance. In contrast to the male, the female Common Scoter is dark brown with a darker crown which contrasts with the pale sides of the head and neck. The female Common Scoter has a dark brownish to black beak and is also slightly smaller than the male.
The Common Scoter breeds across northern Europe, including Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia and the northern UK, and northern Russia as far east as the Olenek River in Siberia. Outside of the breeding season, the Common Scoter moves south to spend the winter along inshore coastal waters of western Europe and western north Africa from Norway south to Mauretania. A large proportion of the Common Scoter population overwinters in the Baltic Sea. A few Common Scoters spend the winter in ice-free waters near their breeding grounds and some non-breeding individuals remain in the wintering grounds over summer.
The Common Scoter breeds around freshwater lakes, pools, rivers and streams in tundra and in open habitats in sub-Arctic areas. Although it may sometimes use inland, freshwater lakes during its migration, the Common Scoter mainly overwinters at sea where it is typically found in large flocks in shallow, inshore waters and in bays and estuary mouths.
Date: 3rd June 2015
Location: Lake Mývatn, north east Iceland
The scientific name of the Common Scoter, nigra, comes from the Latin for “black” and refers to the entirely glossy black plumage of the male. The beak of the male Common Scoter is also black with a swollen black knob at the base and a conspicuous patch of yellow on the top. In flight, the slightly paler undersides of the flight feathers contrast with the otherwise dark wings. In summer, the male Common Scoter becomes slightly duller and more mottled in appearance. In contrast to the male, the female Common Scoter is dark brown with a darker crown which contrasts with the pale sides of the head and neck. The female Common Scoter has a dark brownish to black beak and is also slightly smaller than the male.
The Common Scoter breeds across northern Europe, including Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia and the northern UK, and northern Russia as far east as the Olenek River in Siberia. Outside of the breeding season, the Common Scoter moves south to spend the winter along inshore coastal waters of western Europe and western north Africa from Norway south to Mauretania. A large proportion of the Common Scoter population overwinters in the Baltic Sea. A few Common Scoters spend the winter in ice-free waters near their breeding grounds and some non-breeding individuals remain in the wintering grounds over summer.
The Common Scoter breeds around freshwater lakes, pools, rivers and streams in tundra and in open habitats in sub-Arctic areas. Although it may sometimes use inland, freshwater lakes during its migration, the Common Scoter mainly overwinters at sea where it is typically found in large flocks in shallow, inshore waters and in bays and estuary mouths.
Date: 3rd June 2015
Location: Lake Mývatn, north east Iceland
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Also in: North east Iceland
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