Armenia (B), Austria (NB), Azerbaijan, Belarus (NB), Belgium (NB), Bulgaria (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), China (mainland), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (NB), Czech Republic (NB), Denmark (NB) (P), Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (NB) (P), Georgia (B), Germany (NB) (P), Hungary (NB), Iran [Islamic Republic of], Ireland (NB), Italy (NB), Japan, Kazakhstan (B), Latvia (NB), Lithuania (NB), Mexico, Montenegro (NB), Netherlands Antilles (NB), North Korea, Norway (B) (NB) (P), Poland (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Romania (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Serbia (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (NB), Slovenia (NB), South Korea, Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), Sweden (B) (NB), Switzerland (NB), Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan, Ukraine (NB), United Kingdom (NB), USA (B), Uzbekistan.
Vagrant to Afghanistan, Algeria, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Faroe Islands, Greece (NB), Greenland, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Israel, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of], Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Tajikistan.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 1,700,000 - 3,000,000 (2010).
Food
Mainly molluscs and crustaceans, including mussels, cockles, clams, sea urchins and crabs. Also insects and their larvae, small fish, plant material.
Voice
Mostly silent. Male, a whistling call during the breeding season. Female, a grating or growl.
Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) [XC795550]
by Albert Ros from Bodenseekreis (near Langenargen), T\u00fcbingen, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, Germany (song)
Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) [XC727117]
by Albert Ros from Holm\u00f6gadd, V\u00e4sterbottens l\u00e4n, Sweden (flight call)
Nest
On the ground, near water.
Eggs (Guide)
5 - 7; cream or buff; ellipsoidal. Incubation: 27 - 28 days; by male.
Subspecies
Subspecies deglandi and stejnegeri have been separated by some in a full species, White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi).
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
fusca (Linnaeus, 1758) - Scandinavia east to R Yenisey, central Siberia.
stejnegeri (Ridgway, 1887) - Siberia, from Yenisey basin east to Kamchatka, south to Mongolia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri).
deglandi (Bonaparte, 1850) - Alaska and Canada, east to Hudson Bay. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi).
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet