Surf Scoter

Melanitta perspicillata

Bold white head patches, a candy-corn bill, and a love of breaking waves. Your message arrives in the surf line.

Population: roughly 250,000–1,300,000 individuals globally (an older, poor-quality estimate — c.2006–2009 — carried forward in the current IUCN assessment); trend suspected decreasing
Habitat: Breeds on freshwater lakes in boreal forest/tundra-transition zones of the far north; winters and molts in coastal marine waters (bays, inlets, estuaries), typically near shore.
Fun fact: Male Surf Scoters are nicknamed \"old skunkhead\" for their bold black-and-white head patches and multicolored orange-and-white bill; females are unique among scoters in having a whitish nape patch.
Range: North America only: breeds inland from western Alaska through central/northern Canada to Labrador; winters along the Pacific coast (Aleutians to Baja California) and the Atlantic coast (to South Carolina), with small numbers reaching western Europe.
Diet: Aquatic invertebrates obtained by diving — mainly mussels, other bivalves, crustaceans, and gastropods; also herring spawn; ducklings eat freshwater invertebrates.
Size: 0.46 m
Wingspan: 0.76 m
Lifespan: 19 years

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