The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus Melanitta. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills. Females are brown.
They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia and North America, and winter further south in temperate zones 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.
The Black or American Scoter (Melanitta americana) is a large sea duck, 43-54 cm in length, which breeds over the far north of North America in Alaska, Labrador and Newfoundland, and on Siberia east of the Yana River.
It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Common Scoter, as M.
This species can be distinguished from other scoters, apart from Common, by the lack of white anywhere on the drake, and the more extensive pale areas on the female.
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