Birds and wildlife

Common Scoter

Melanitta nigraGroup: Ducks, geese and swansUK Conservation status:Red

How to identify

The Common Scoter is a dark-coloured seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face. They are often seen as large bobbing rafts offshore, or long straggling lines flying along the coast. The UK breeding population of this small diving seaduck has fallen significantly and it's now a Red List species. It's listed as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It's vulnerable to oil spills in winter.

Call

Common Scoter

Lars Edenius / xeno-canto

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Key facts