White-winged scoter

The white-winged scoter (Melanitta deglandi) is a large sea duck. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas 'black' and netta 'duck'. The species name commemorates French ornithologist Côme Damien Degland. The white-winged scoter is one of three North American scoter species and the largest species of scoter. It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. Females range from 950–1,950 g (2.09–4.30 lb) and 48–56 cm (19–22 in), averaging 1,180 g (2.60 lb) and 52.3 cm (20.6 in). She is brown with pale head patches. The male ranges from 1,360–2,128 g (2.998–4.691 lb) and from 53–60 cm (21–24 in), averaging 1,380 g (3.04 lb) and 55 cm (22 in). He is all black, except for white around the eye and a white speculum. This scoter's bill has a black base and a large knob. There are a number of differing characteristics of the Stejneger's scoter and the white-winged scoter. Males of the white-winged scoter have browner flanks, dark yellow coloration of most of the bill and a less tall bill knob, approaching the velvet scoter. Stejneger's scoter has a very tall knob at the base of its mostly orange-yellow bill. Females are identical in the field. The Latin binomial commemorates the French zoologist Dr. Côme-Damien Degland (1787–1856). It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the velvet scoter, and some taxonomists still regard it as so. These two species, the Stejneger's scoter, and the surf scoter, are placed in the subgenus Melanitta, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, black and common scoters. Stejneger's scoter was suggested to be a full species, according to a new study. The white-winged scoter breeds over the far north of North America. It winters further south in temperate zones, on the Great Lakes, the coasts of the northern United States and the southern coasts of Canada.. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. It has occurred as a vagrant in Europe, including Scotland, Iceland, Norway and Ireland,