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{{Wiki|Scoter}}
 
 
{{Unreferenced stub|type=bird|auto=yes|date=December 2009}}
 
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The presumed [[fossil]] "scoter" ''Melanitta ceruttii'' which lived in [[California]] during the Late [[Pliocene]] is now placed in the genus ''[[Histrionicus]]''.
 
The presumed [[fossil]] "scoter" ''Melanitta ceruttii'' which lived in [[California]] during the Late [[Pliocene]] is now placed in the genus ''[[Histrionicus]]''.
   
[[Category:Melanitta|*]]
 
[[Category:Genera of birds]]
 
[[Category:Ducks]]
 
   
   
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{{Project Bird Genera}}
 
{{Project Bird Genera}}
 
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[[Category:Anatidae|*{{PN}}]]
 
[[Category:Anatidae|*{{PN}}]]
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[[Category:Anatinae|*{{PN}}]]
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[[Category:Mergini|*{{PN}}]]
 
[[Category:Melanitta|*]]
 
[[Category:Ducks|*{{PN}}]]
 
[[Category:Genera of Anseriformes]]

Latest revision as of 15:58, 13 April 2013

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Scoters
File:Wwscoter12.JPG
Adult male White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamily: Merginae
Genus: Melanitta
Boie, 1822
Species
  • Melanitta nigra

(Common Scoter)

  • Melanitta americana

(Black or American Scoter)

  • Melanitta fusca

(Velvet Scoter)

  • Melanitta deglandi

(White-winged Scoter)

  • Melanitta perspicillata

(Surf Scoter)

Synonyms

Oidemia

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.

There are five species, grouped into two subgenera:

The presumed fossil "scoter" Melanitta ceruttii which lived in California during the Late Pliocene is now placed in the genus Histrionicus.


Template:Duck-stub

Eurasian Spoonbill This article is part of Project Bird Genera, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each genus, including made-up genera.
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