Austria (NB), Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium (NB), Bulgaria (NB), Canada (P), China (mainland), Czech Republic (NB), Denmark (NB) (P), Estonia (NB) (P), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (NB) (P), Germany (NB) (P), Gibraltar (NB), Greece (NB), Hungary (NB), Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Italy (NB), Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia (NB), Lithuania (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles (NB), North Korea, Norway (B) (NB) (P), Poland (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Romania (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (NB), Slovenia (NB), South Korea, Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B) (NB), Switzerland (NB), Turkey (NB), Ukraine (NB), United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B), Western Sahara.
Vagrant to Algeria, Bermuda, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (NB), Cyprus, Greenland, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Kuwait, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Serbia, Tunisia.
Population
Estimated population is 2,100,000 - 2,400,000 (2010).
Status LC
Human distrurbance at its winter quarters, susceptibility to avain influenza, hunting and egg collection, are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Food
Mainly molluscs and crustaceans, including mussels, cockles, clams and crabs. Also insects and their larvae, small fish, plant material.
Voice
Mostly silent. Males utter quiet whistling and piping calls, especially during the breeding season.
Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) [XC559156]
by Michael John O Mahony from Hov, Uppsala, Uppsala l\u00e4n, Sweden (flight call, nocturnal flight call, migration, night)
Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) [XC639921]
by Robert Ekman from Filey, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom (call, flight call, nocturnal flight call)
Nest
On the ground, near water.
Eggs (Guide)
5 - 7; cream or buff; ellipsoidal. Incubation: 27 - 28 days; by male.
Subspecies
Subspecies sometimes considered full species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
nigra (Linnaeus, 1758) - Iceland and northern Britain east to R Olenek, Siberia.
americana (Swainson, 1832) - Breeds northern Siberia to Alaska. Winters to northern US. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black Scoter (Melanitta americana).
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