Velvet Scoter

The Velvet Scoter of Eurasia is a large diving duck of the western Eurasian continent. The old taxon Velvet Scoter has recently been split into 3 new species, the Velvet Scoter of Eurasia (or more simply Velvet Scoter) which we are concerned with here, the Siberian Scoter which inhabits the east of the continent, and the White-winged Scoter which inhabits the north of the North American continent. The Velvet Scoter (of Eurasia) has thus become monotypic.
Mating adults present a strong sexual dimorphism. The male on the water appears entirely black with a particular head and a white line in the wing. In fact, it is the beak which is particular with the area around the nostrils swollen and black. It itself is yellow to yellow-orange, bordered with black and with an orange-red tab. The iris is very pale gray and a clearly distinct oblique white comma emphasizes the eye. As for the white wing line, it is the part visible in the folded wing of the large white mirror formed by the secondary remiges and the tips of the large white coverts. Often it is hidden when the bird is at rest due to the flank feathers. On the other hand, when the bird is active, it has the habit of spreading its wings when diving, revealing the white. In flight, the large size, the entirely black feathering and the large white mirror at the back of the wing are diagnostic. The legs are pink-red to blackish palmetta. This phenotype does not appear on the mainland of France where it is birds of female type which are displayed on the large bodies of water.
The female adult has an entirely dark brown plumage. She also has the white wing mirror. On the other hand, its head is different. It shows a pale, beige area between the eye and the beak and a whitish patch behind the eye on the top of the ear coverts. The eye is dark. The beak is gray-blackish without basal swelling.From afar, it appears as a large, dark duck with a triangular-shaped head carrying two pale spots. The juvenile is similar to the female, but paler due to pale edgings on the feathers and with larger and more distinct pale spots on the head. During the first winter, it will be possible to sex the young birds. We will then see black appearing in the plumage of Velvet Scoter males.