Melanitta stejnegeri
The Stejneger's Scoter, Melanitta stejnegeri, is a robust and striking sea duck of the genus Melanitta, recently elevated to full species status from the White-winged Scoter complex. Males are magnificent, sporting a glossy black plumage contrasted by a prominent white tear-shaped or comma-shaped patch behind the eye and a vivid, bulbous orange-yellow bill with a large black knob at its base. Females are a more subdued brownish-black with paler cheeks and a dark, less ornate bill, yet they re...
Breeds on freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers within the boreal forest and taiga zones of eastern Siberia. Winters primarily on coastal marine waters, estuaries, and shallow seas.
Primarily consumes benthic mollusks (e.g., mussels, clams), crustaceans, and aquatic insect larvae, foraging by diving to the seabed.
Stejneger's Scoters are diurnal, spending their days diving for food and often forming large, dense rafts on their wintering grounds. Foraging involves powerful dives, propelled by their large webbed feet, allowing them to reach benthic invertebrates in deep waters. During the breeding season, ma...
The primary breeding range of the Stejneger's Scoter spans the vast taiga and boreal forest regions of eastern Siberia, extending from the Yenisei River eastward across Chukotka and Kamchatka, and south to Sakhalin Island, northern Mongolia, and parts of northern China (e.g., Heilongjiang provinc...
Least Concern
- Named after Leonhard Hess Stejneger, a Norwegian-American ornithologist, zoologist, and herpetologist. - Formerly considered a subspecies of the White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi or Melanitta fusca), it was elevated to full species status due to distinct morphological, genetic, and behavi...