ILLUSTRATION
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PHOTOS
CONSERVATION STATUS
The Surf Scoter is a large sea duck that prefers to breed throughout Canada and Alaska. In winter months, this bird will migrate southward to warmer climates, including the northern coasts of the United States, Western Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, and the Great Lakes. Large flocks are also formed over coastal waters in cold weather. Nests are built on the ground close to the water in woods or tundra. Diets consist of crustaceans and mollusks found by diving in the water, but the young feed on freshwater invertebrates. The conservation rating for the Surf Scoter is Least Concern.
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SUMMARY
Overview
Surf Scoter: Medium diving duck, entirely black except for white patches on forehead and nape. Bill is orange, black, and white. Eyes are white. Legs and feet are orange. Dives for food, primarily mollusks and crustaceans. Rapid direct flight with strong wing beats. Flies in straight line formation.
Range and Habitat
Surf Scoter: Breeds in Alaska and across northern Canada to Labrador. Spends winters mainly along coasts, from Alaska south to California and from Newfoundland south to Florida, and rarely to Texas. Breeds on northern lakes and spends winters almost entirely on the ocean and in large coastal bays.
SONGS AND CALLS
Listen to Call
Surf Scoter
Voice Text
Generally silent
INTERESTING FACTS
- The Surf Scoter has a boldly patterned head that is the basis for its colloquial name "skunk-headed coot." The only scoter confined as a breeding species to America, they are among the least studied of northern waterfowl.
- Rarely diving in water that exceeds 30 feet deep, they forage in the zone of breaking waves, and habitually dive through foaming wave crests.
- Gulls often force surfacing ducks to relinquish their prey, thus flocks frequently dive in unison. This possibly promotes synchronous surfacing, when groups are less likely to be kleptoparasitized than individual ducks.
- A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.
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