Scoter

Scoters
	Adult malewhite-winged scoter(Melanitta deglandi)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Melanitta; F. Boie,1822
Type species
	Anas fusca(velvet scoter); Linnaeus,1758
Species
	Seetext
Synonyms
	Oidemia

Thescotersare stockyseaducksin thegenusMelanitta.The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north ofEurope,Asia,andNorth America,andwinterfarther south intemperatezones 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.

Taxonomy

The genusMelanittawas introduced by the German zoologistFriedrich Boiein 1822.^[1]Thetype specieswas designated in 1838 as thevelvet scoterbyThomas Campbell Eyton.^[2]The genus name combines theAncient Greekmelasmeaning "black" andnettameaning "duck".^[3]

The genus contains sixspecies:^[4]

GenusMelanitta–F. Boie,1822– six species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
black or American scoter Male Female	Melanitta americana (Swainson, 1832)	north of North America in Labrador and Newfoundland to the southeast Hudson Bay	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
common scoter Male Female	Melanitta nigra (Linnaeus, 1758)	north of Europe and Asia east to the Olenyok River	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
velvet scoter Male Female	Melanitta fusca (Linnaeus, 1758)	eastern Turkey, Europe as far south as Great Britain, and on the Black and Caspian Sea	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU
white-winged scoter Male Female	Melanitta deglandi (Bonaparte, 1850)	North America	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Stejneger's scoter Male	Melanitta stejnegeri (Ridgway, 1887)	far north of Asia east of the Yenisey Basin	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
surf scoter Male Female	Melanitta perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758)	North America, mostly in Northern Canada and Alaska	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

The presumedfossil"scoter"Melanitta ceruttii,which lived inCaliforniaduring the LatePliocene,is now placed in the genusHistrionicus.

References

^Boie, Friedrich(1822).Tagebuch gehalten auf einer Reise durch Norwegen im Jahre 1817(in German). Schleswig: Königl Taubstummen - Institut. pp.308,351.
^Eyton, Thomas Campbell(1838).A Monograph on the Anatidae, or Duck Tribe.London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman. p. 52.
^Jobling, James A (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p.246.ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^Gill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (July 2021)."Screamers, ducks, geese & swans".IOC World Bird List Version 11.2.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved16 October2021.

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[1] Boie, Friedrich(1822).Tagebuch gehalten auf einer Reise durch Norwegen im Jahre 1817(in German). Schleswig: Königl Taubstummen - Institut. pp.308,351.

[2] Eyton, Thomas Campbell(1838).A Monograph on the Anatidae, or Duck Tribe.London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman. p. 52.

[3] Jobling, James A (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p.246.ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

[ioc-4] Gill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (July 2021)."Screamers, ducks, geese & swans".IOC World Bird List Version 11.2.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved16 October2021.

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