Scoter

Scoter
	Atlantic scoter, male in magnificent dress
Systematics
Order :	Goose birds (Anseriformes)
Family :	Duck birds (Anatidae)
Subfamily :	Anatinae
Tribe :	Sea Ducks and Sawyers (Mergini)
Genre :	Melanitta
Type :	Scoter
Scientific name
	Melanitta nigra
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

Female of the Atlantic scoter

The common scoter ( Melanitta nigra ) is a duck bird from the genus of sea ducks ( Melanitta ) that inhabits the northern regions of Europe , Asia and North America . The common scoter gets its name from the black plumage of the drakes. During the winter months, this duck can also be found in the North and Baltic Sea region.

Male of the Pacific Scoter

There are currently two subspecies distinguished. In addition to the nominate form Melanitta nigra nigra , which is also known as the Atlantic scoter, the Pacific scoter Melanitta nigra americana is distinguished as the second . Some authors grant this its own species status. Here the IUCN followed, which has not yet made this division into the two, then each monotypical, species.

Morphology and characteristics

Scoter weigh around 1,200 to 1,400 grams and reach a body length of 45 to 54 cm. The wingspan is 79 to 90 centimeters.

The male's magnificent dress is uniformly black with slightly lighter wing tips. The beak is broad, flat with a yellow spot. There is a hump at the base of the beak. The male's plain dress is dark brown. The head has gray-brown areas on the side of the neck. The females are dark brown in color. The lower half of the face is gray-white. The beak is gray and has no hump. Both sexes have dark brown to black feet. The tail is long, pointed and often raised a little when swimming.

In flight, the common scoter moves quickly and mostly at low altitudes. In flight it does not have any light markings, which distinguishes it from the similar velvet duck , among other things . The flaps of the wings are profoundly fast, with the body turning. In adult males, the 10th hand swing as a sound swing in the front area is greatly narrowed. Males therefore have a chirping, trilling and whistling sound when flying.

The two subspecies differ in the male's beak. The hump of the Atlantic scoter is mostly dark, only one spot on the beak immediately in front of the hump is orange-yellow. In the Pacific scoter, the hump is smaller but noticeably orange-yellow. The Pacific scoter has a more even profile than the Atlantic scoter.

distribution and habitat

Distribution of the common scoter:

Breeding areas

Year-round occurrence

Wintering areas

The breeding areas of the scoter are in the north of the British Isles, Iceland and Scandinavia, in northern Russia and in western Siberia . Towards winter the ducks migrate to the more temperate zones as far as southern Spain and Morocco . It is a frequent migrant on the North and Baltic Sea coasts in the period July to December and February to May. Outside of the breeding season, it spends most of its time at sea. Winter areas can be found in northern Norway, in the North Sea and along the French, Iberian and Moroccan coasts. In Asia, it often winters in the coastal waters of Japan, China, and Korea. On the western coast of North America, scoter can be found in the winter months from the southern coast of Alaska to Canada and California. In eastern North America, they can be seen from Newfoundland to South Carolina and the Great Lakes.

Since scoter, like many other sea ducks, neither breed in their first or second year of life, flocks of scoter are often found year-round in areas south of their breeding areas.

Way of life

Scoter are very sociable animals that are mainly in large groups on the sea. As a rule, they also hunt in small groups.

food

The diet of the common scoter consists mainly of mussels , crustaceans and mollusks . In fresh water, it also hunts insects and small fish . The prey is usually hunted while diving. They can reach depths of up to 30 meters.

Reproduction

Egg, Museum Wiesbaden collection

The animals become sexually mature at around two years of age. The breeding areas are on slowly flowing waters, lakes and ponds or on the edges of forests and the tundra . The nests are built from plant material. The animals breed once a year from March to June. The males leave the breeding colonies in June and return to the sea to moult. The female lays 6 to 9 yellow-white eggs. The chicks hatch after 27 to 31 days. They flee the nest and follow their mother into the water shortly after their birth. The plumage of the young ducks is similar to the plumage of the females. At 45 to 50 days, the young ducks become fully fledged and independent.

Common scoters live to be around 10 to 15 years old.

Duration

The worldwide population of scoter is estimated at 1.9 to 2.4 million individuals (Wetlands International 2002) . The scoter population is considered not to be endangered and is given by the IUCN as Least Concern . In Germany, the scoter is classified as a type of responsibility within the federal government's national strategy on biological diversity. The hunting season is set from October 1st to January 15th by the Federal Hunting Act. Scoter are extensively protected on the German East and North Sea coasts. With the exception of Bremen and Saxony, the species has a year-round closed season.

literature

Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe. Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
John Gooders and Trevor Boyer: Ducks of Britain and the Northern Hemisphere , Dragon's World Ltd, Surrey 1986, ISBN 1-85028-022-3
Rob Hume: Birds in Europe . Dorling Kindersley Verlag, 2007 ISBN 978-3-8310-0991-6
Janet Kear (Ed.): Ducks, Geese and Swans. Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854645-9 .
Hartmut Kolbe; Die Entenvögel der Welt , Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1
Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife , published by Christopher Helm, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8
Erwin Stresemann: Excursion fauna Germany . Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1995 ISBN 3-334-60951-0