Family:
The surf scoter is a medium-sized, bulky sea duck with a large head, sturdy neck, and heavy, broad bill. The male is black overall white patches on its nape and forehead. The bill is orange with black and white markings. Outside of breeding season, the male loses the nape patch.
The female is dark brown, with darker wings, and a dark grey bill. She has white patches on the face behind the bill and behind the eye, which distinguishes it from the velvet scoter.
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The surf scoter primarily feeds on bottom-dwelling aquatic invertebrates, including molluscs, crustaceans, bivalves, and worms. During the breeding season, its diet is supplemented with insects, larvae, fish roe, and plant matter.
Prey is usually captured underwater and swallowed whole.
Surf scoters breed in the boreal forests of northern Canada and Alaska, near freshwater lakes and ponds. In winter, they migrate to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, ranging as far south as California and Florida, where they can be found in harbours, bays, estuaries, and other coastal waters.
