Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)
About the Black Scoter
The black scoter or American scoter (Melanitta americana) is a large sea duck, 43 to 49 cm (17 to 19 in) in length. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck". The species name is from the Latin for "American". Together with the common scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the black scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana. Its French name, used in parts of its Canadian range, is macreuse noire (also meaning "black scoter"). The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 85 recordings for this species: 67 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Canada, Japan, Russia, Sweden in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Common ScoterMelanitta nigrarecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.