Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca Scientific name definitions

51–58 cm; male 1173–2104 g (1 Collinson, M., Parkin, D.T., Knox, A.G., Sangster, G. and Helbig, A.J. (2006). Species limits within the genus Melanitta, the scoters. British Birds. 99(4): 183-201. Close ), female 1140–1895 g (1 Collinson, M., Parkin, D.T., Knox, A.G., Sangster, G. and Helbig, A.J. (2006). Species limits within the genus Melanitta, the scoters. British Birds. 99(4): 183-201. Close ); wingspan 86–99 cm (2 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Large <em>Melanitta</em> . Recognizable in flight  by conspicuous white  secondaries and greater coverts that form square wingbar  (usually just visible on closed wing). Male glossy blackish  (duller in non-breeding season, with pale-mottled flanks) (3 Proctor, B. and Pullan, D. (1997). Identification of Velvet and White-winged Scoters. Birding World. 10(2): 56–61. Close ); yellow to yellowish-orange bill  , the colour extending almost to the base, with pinkish-orange nail (sometimes reddish orange), knob and cutting edges black, and frequently has thin black lines either side of culmen (3 Proctor, B. and Pullan, D. (1997). Identification of Velvet and White-winged Scoters. Birding World. 10(2): 56–61. Close ); pale grey-white eye  with white mark below it  ; legs and feet red-pink with blackish webs (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Female  medium to dark brown with paler greyish-brown patches  between eyes and bill and adjacent to ear-coverts; bill  dull olive-black, dark grey or black, feet dull reddish, and irides brown (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Juvenile as female, paler on breast with whiter and larger pale head markings; bill may become coloured during early spring, but lacks basal swelling of adult; only assumes adult plumage in second autumn; juvenile male is generally dull brown to black, variably mottled with black on upperparts (especially from Dec onwards) (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). M. deglandi and M. stejnegeri (both formerly treated as subspecies of present species) are separated mainly by shape and colour of bill, although males of both races have more extensive white patch below and behind eye (3 Proctor, B. and Pullan, D. (1997). Identification of Velvet and White-winged Scoters. Birding World. 10(2): 56–61. Close ), for details see those species.

Breeds in Scandinavia and Estonia E to R Yenisey, C Siberia S to Kazakhstan; isolated populations in Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. Winters along the coasts of Western Europe S to N Mediterranean; also Black and Caspian Seas.

Breeds around small freshwater bodies of boreal forest and Arctic tundra, sometimes well inland, and occasionally along wooded shores of Baltic Sea (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Caucasus population unusual in nesting in rather different habitat: in Turkey, recorded breeding to c. 3000 m on islands in high-altitude waterbodies, including crater lakes (6 Kirwan, G. M., K. A. Boyla, P. Castell, B. Demirci, M. Özen, H. Welch, and T. Marlow (2008). The Birds of Turkey: The Distribution, Taxonomy and Breeding of Turkish Birds. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Winters mostly at sea (and juveniles also spend whole of first year at sea) (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), usually in shallower waters of littoral zone, and species is periodically recorded inland elsewhere virtually throughout its range in small numbers at this season. In NW Atlantic, sand-substrate seabeds supporting infaunal benthic communities appear to provide highest-quality feeding habitat for scoters (7 Lohring, P.H., Paton, P.W.C., McWilliams, S.R., McKinney, R.A. and Oviatt, C.A. (2013). Densities of wintering scoters in relation to benthic prey assemblages in a North Atlantic estuary. Waterbirds. 36(2): 144-155. Close ).

Migratory; winters on coasts of Europe S to Mediterranean , Black and Caspian Seas; also inland, e.g. in C Europe (usually few 100s, but c. 1000 in S Germany, Austria and Switzerland in winter 1985/86 and 1988/89) (8 Aubrecht, G., Leuzinger, H., Schifferli, L. and Schuster, S. (1990). Starker Einflug von Samtenten Melanitta fusca ins mitteleuropäische Binnenland in den Wintern 1985/86 und 1988/89. Orn. Beob.. 87(2): 89-97. Close ), Turkey (6 Kirwan, G. M., K. A. Boyla, P. Castell, B. Demirci, M. Özen, H. Welch, and T. Marlow (2008). The Birds of Turkey: The Distribution, Taxonomy and Breeding of Turkish Birds. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), and once in Kazakhstan at this season (9 Wassink, A. (2010). Birds of Kazakhstan: new and interesting data, part 3. Dutch Birding. 32(2): 128–130. Close ). Migration routes poorly studied, but huge numbers (up to 386,000) pass Estonia and Gulf of Finland (60,000) in May, and elsewhere in Scandinavia large numbers pass through Kalmarsund (SE Sweden) in Jul, Aug and Nov, but virtually none pass Rügen on German Baltic coast (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In Finland, return migration in autumn appears to have been getting later based on study of passage dates over 30-year period since 1979, perhaps as a result of climate change (10 Lehikoinen, A., and K. Jaatinen (2012). Delayed autumn migration in northern European waterfowl. Journal of Ornithology 153(2):563–570. Close ). Prior to leaving vicinity of breeding grounds, majority of W Eurasian population believed to moult in water N of Russia, e.g. around Novaya Zemyla (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Off Estonia, mean altitude of migratory flights is 128 m above ground and many movements occur at night (11 Kahlert, J., Leito, A., Laubek, B., Luigujõe, L., Kuresoo, A., Aean, K. and Lund, A. (2012). Factors affecting the flight altitude of migrating waterbirds in Western Estonia. Ornis Fennica. 89: 241-253. Close ). During winter, large numbers may be displaced by exceptional formation of sea-ice, for example in E Baltic (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Irregularly recorded further S, with vagrants reported in Kuwait (Jan 1992) (12 Pilcher, C.W.T. and Shehab, M.A. (1994). First record of Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca in Kuwait. Sandgrouse. 16(1): 53-54. Close ), Israel (four records, most recent Dec 1992) (13 Shirihai, H. (1996). The Birds of Israel: A Complete Avifauna and Bird Atlas of Israel. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), Cyprus (Apr 2011) (14 Balmer, D. and Harrison, I. (2011). Around the region. Sandgrouse. 33(2): 200-213. Close ), Egypt (several records, most recent Feb–Mar 1982) (15 Goodman, S. M., P. L. Meininger, S. M. Baha el Din, J. J. Hobbs, and W. C. Mullié, Editors (1989). The Birds of Egypt. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK & New York, USA. Close ) and the Atlantic seaboard of Morocco (Dec 1989, 1993) (16 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ). In Kazakhstan, where both present species and M. stejnegeri breed, former occurs on spring passage between mid Apr and late May, and in autumn mid Sept to late Nov, whereas stejnegeri arrives on breeding grounds late May/early Jun and departs late Jul–Oct (17 Wassink, A., and G. J. Oreel (2007). The Birds of Kazakhstan. Published privately, De Cocksdorp, Texel, The Netherlands. Close ). Nominate race has also wandered to Greenland, and records of vagrants in Afghanistan (Jan) and Pakistan (Feb 1988) might also pertain to fusca but perhaps to stejnegeri (18 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Mainly molluscs ; also crustaceans , worms, echinoderms, annelids (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), small fish and, in fresh water, insects and their larvae. Little plant material consumed, principally on breeding grounds, where diet is dominated by amphipods, caddis fly larvae and crustaceans (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Winter diet mainly saltwater molluscs, especially blue mussels and cockles, also Spisula subtruncata at depths of up to 20 m, while in Baltic Mya truncata, Macoma baltica and other benthnic molluscs (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), selecting larger prey (> 30 mm) than many other duck species feeding in same waters (19 Stempniewicz, L. and Meissner, W. (1999). Assessment of the zoobenthos biomass consumed yearly by diving ducks wintering in the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea). Ornis Svecica. 9: 143–154. Close ). Feeds  almost exclusively by diving, propelling themselves using both wings and feet (20 Richman, S.E. and Lovvorn, J.R. (2009). Predator size, prey size and threshold food densities of diving ducks: does a common prey base support fewer large animals? Journal of Animal Ecology. 78(5): 1033-1042. Close ), though occasionally also dabbles on surface; nocturnal foraging occurs, even in winter, but usually farther from shore and in deeper waters (21 Lewis, T.L., Esler, D., Boyd, W.S. and Žydelis, R. (2005). Nocturnal foraging behavior of wintering Surf Scoters and White-winged Scoters. Condor. 107(3): 637-647. Close ). Those wintering off SW Norway (Jæren) often forage in close association with Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena), feeding on bottom-dwelling prey (mainly echinoderms) extracted from sandy substrate (22 Byrkjedal, I., Eldøy, S., Grundetjern, S. and Løyning, M.K. (1997). Feeding associations between Red-necked Grebes Podiceps griseigena and Velvet Scoters Melanitta fusca in winter. Ibis. 139(1): 45-50. Close ).

Considered to be generally rather silent, but male gives “vak-vak” in courtship, while female has “braaa-braaa-braaa” or “kraa-ah kraa-ah kraa” during morning flight display (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Generally starts May/Jun.  Seasonally monogamous; pairs may defend small territory around nest-site (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In single pairs or loose groups (e.g. on islands), sometimes in association with gull and tern colonies, in wooded boreal or taiga country (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); in SW Finland species selects larger islets for nesting (23 Rönkä, M., H. Tolvanen, E. Lehikoinen, M. von Numers, and M. Rautkari (2008). Breeding habitat preferences of 15 bird species on south-western Finnish archipelago coast: applicability of digital spatial data archives to habitat assessment. Biological Conservation 141(2):402–416. Close ). Nest is shallow depression poorly lined with surrounding plant matter, and also with down, on ground among vegetation, usually within 100 m of open water (typically freshwater lakes, but also in marine habitats, e.g. in Scandinavia), occasionally up to 2–3 km distant (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Single-brooded (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Usually 7–9 eggs (5–12), laid at rate of one every 1·5 days (24 Traylor, J.J., Alisauskas, R.T. and Kehoe, F.P. (2004). Nesting ecology of White-winged Scoters (Melanitta fusca deglandi) at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan. Auk. 121(3): 950-962. Close ); creamy buff (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) or yellowish white (25 Adamian, M. S., and D. Klem (1999). Handbook of the Birds of Armenia. American University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia. Close ) in colour, size 64–78 mm × 43–52 mm (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); mass 92 g (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 26–29 days, by female alone (whose body weight declines by up to 23% between laying and hatching), although frequently departs nest during this period (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); chicks have dark brown down above, white below up to cheeks, neck-sides and lower throat (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), with mean hatching weight of 54·7 g (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); fledging c. 50–55 days. Breeding success can be very low: of 7418 eggs laid over three seasons in Finland, only 3·2% produced fledged young, equivalent to 99·8%, 92% and 99% losses in the respective years, with daily predation rates of 5% of ducklings, which regularly join together in crèches (like in M. deglandi) (4 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In another Finnish study, 60% of ducklings died before reaching age of three weeks (26 Mikola, J., Miettinen, M., Lehikoinen, E. and Lehtilä, K. (1994). The effects of disturbance caused by boating on survival and behaviour of velvet scoter Melanitta fusca ducklings. Biological Conservation. 67(2): 119-124. Close ). Relatively few reported predators of adults, but these include killer whale (Orcinus orca) (27 Williams, A. J., B. M. Dyer, R. M. Randall, and J. Komen (1990). Killer whales Orcinus orca and seabirds: “play”, predation and association. Marine Ornithology 18(1):37–41. Close ); in Finland, common predators of ducklings are Herring (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-backed Gulls (L. marinus) (26 Mikola, J., Miettinen, M., Lehikoinen, E. and Lehtilä, K. (1994). The effects of disturbance caused by boating on survival and behaviour of velvet scoter Melanitta fusca ducklings. Biological Conservation. 67(2): 119-124. Close ). Sexual maturity at 2–3 years; oldest ringed bird 12 years old.

VULNERABLE. Numbers best known from counts in wintering areas: similar downwards trend in numbers as suspected for other Melanitta species, at least in parts of range. Global population most recently estimated at c. 300,000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Melanitta fusca. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 05/05/2016. : since 1992–1993, when European wintering population was thought to number c. 1 million birds (of which 286,000 in Gulf of Pommern and 137,000 in Gulf of Riga (28 Durinck, J., Skov, H. and Andell, P. (1993). Seabird distribution and numbers in selected offshore parts of the Baltic Sea, winter 1992. Ornis Svecica. 3(1): 11–26. Close ) ), apparent decrease of c. 60% (3·7% annually) detected in the Baltic, with counts in 2007–2009 placing population there at c. 373,000 individuals, down from c. 933,000 in early 1990s, which is believed to represent a real decline, rather than purely a shift in the species’ geographic distribution at this season (notwithstanding increase off Latvia and Lithuania during the period) (29 Skov, H., S. Heinänen, R. Žydelis, J. Bellebaum, S. Bzoma, M. Dagys, J. Durinck, S. Garthe, G. Grishanov, M. Hario, J. J. Kieckbusch, J. Kube, A. Kuresoo, K. Larsson, L. Luigujoe, W. Meissner, H. W. Nehls, L. Nilsson, I. K. Petersen, M. M. Roos, S. Pihl, N. Sonntag, A. Stock, A. Stipniece, and A. Wahl (2011). Waterbird Populations and Pressures in the Baltic Sea. TemaNord 2011:550. Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen, Denmark. Close ). More recent data compiled across Europe (30 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ) suggest that declines are no longer so dramatic: European wintering population now thought to have fallen by only 30–49% over last three generations (22·5 years) (30 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ) BirdLife International Globally Threatened Bird Forums . As a result, the species is now classified as Vulnerable at European level (30 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ); and since Europe holds most of the world population in winter, this trend is globally significant, thus triggering downlisting from globally Endangered to Vulnerable in 2015 BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Melanitta fusca. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 05/05/2016. . In W Europe, much smaller wintering population off British Isles also in significant decline and most recently estimated at just 2500 individuals (31 Musgrove, A.J., Austin, G.E., Hearn, R.D., Holt, C.A., Stroud, D.A. and Wotton, S.R. (2011). Overwinter population estimates of British waterbirds. British Birds. 104(7): 364–397. Close ). M. fusca was used as an important indicator species in selection of two recently designated Special Protection Areas in German territorial waters (32 Garthe, S., Markones, N., Mendel, B., Sonntag, N. and Krause, J.C. (2012). Protected areas for seabirds in German offshore waters: designation, retrospective consideration and current perspectives. Biological Conservation. 156: 126-135. Close ). Over breeding distribution, declines registered in following areas: Armenia (where locally extirpated on L Sevan, with no breeding records since 1960s) (33 Balian, L. V., M. G. Ghasabian, M. S. Adamian, and D. Klem Jr. (2002). Changes in the waterbird community of the Lake Sevan–Lake Gilli area, Republic of Armenia: a case for restoration. Biological Conservation 106(2):157–163. Close ), Estonia (30 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ), SW Finland (34 Rönkä, M., L. Saari, E. Lehikoinen, and J. Suomela (2005). Environmental changes and population trends of breeding waterfowl in the northern Baltic Sea. Alauda 73(3):248. Close ) (at a rate of c. 30% over ten years, with that along the Baltic coast having decreased by c. 50% between 1986 and 2010), Kazakhstan (where stejnegeri also declining) (17 Wassink, A., and G. J. Oreel (2007). The Birds of Kazakhstan. Published privately, De Cocksdorp, Texel, The Netherlands. Close ), parts of NW Russia (e.g. Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, where numbers have declined four-fold since 2002), SE Sweden (35 Johansson, T., and T. Larsson (2001). Häckfågelfaunan i östra Smålands ytterskärgård 1990-2000. [The breeding birds in the outer archipelago of eastern Småland 1990-2000]. Ornis Svecica 11(4):211–222. Close ) and probably Turkey (where just four breeding sites known) (6 Kirwan, G. M., K. A. Boyla, P. Castell, B. Demirci, M. Özen, H. Welch, and T. Marlow (2008). The Birds of Turkey: The Distribution, Taxonomy and Breeding of Turkish Birds. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Apart from risk of large congregations of birds being affected by oil spill (for example, Melanitta species showed evidence of long-term and increasing negative effects as a result of Alaskan Exxon Valdez disaster) (36 Lance, B.K., Irons, D.B., Kendall, S.J. and McDonald, L.L. (2001). An evaluation of marine bird populations trends following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska. Marine Pollution Bulletin 42(4): 298–309. Close ), threatened because feeds at depths of 30–40 m and thus very prone to being trapped in fishing nets (even discarded fishing gear (37 Good, T.P., June, J.A., Etnier, M.A. and Broadhurst, G. (2009). Ghosts of the Salish Sea: threats to marine birds in Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits from derelict fishing gear. Marine Orn.. 37(1): 67–76. Close ) and lead sinkers (38 Scheuhammer, A. M., S. L. Money, D. A. Kirk, and G. Donaldson (2003). Lead Fishing Sinkers and Jigs in Canada: Review of Their Use Patterns and Toxic Impacts on Wildlife. Occasional Papers 108. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Canada. Close ) can represent lethal hazards); for example, in S Baltic Sea, up to c. 4000 individuals/winter may drown as a result (39 Stempniewicz, L. (1994). Marine birds drowning in fishing nets in the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic): numbers, species composition, age and sex structure. Ornis Svecica. 4: 123–132. Close ); in same region, projected large-scale windfarm projects may also be a cause for concern especially for birds on active migration (40 Dierschke, V., Hüppop, O. and Garthe, S. (2003). Populationsbiologische Schwellen der Unzulässigkeit für Beeinträchtigungen der Meeresumwelt am Beispiel der in der deutschen Nord- und Ostsee vorkommenden Vogelarten. Seevögel. 24(3): 61–72. Close ) (the species is ranked of mid-level concern in terms of its vulnerability to this particular threat) (41 Garthe, S. and Hüppop, O. (2004). Scaling possible adverse effects of marine wind farms on seabirds: developing and applying a vulnerability index. Journal of Applied Ecology. 41(4): 724–734. Close ). Human disturbance can have significant deleterious effect on breeding success in some parts of breeding range (26 Mikola, J., Miettinen, M., Lehikoinen, E. and Lehtilä, K. (1994). The effects of disturbance caused by boating on survival and behaviour of velvet scoter Melanitta fusca ducklings. Biological Conservation. 67(2): 119-124. Close ).