Family:
The white-winged scoter is a large, stocky sea duck with a thick neck, heavy head, sloping forehead, and a stout bill. Males have black plumage overall, with large white wing patches that are fully visible in flight. The tail is fairly long and is held up, out of the water.
On the head, there is a white crescent behind the eye, the bill is orange with a dark knob at the base, and the legs and feet are bright orange. Females are browner with a pale belly, two white facial patches, and a dark grey bill.
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White-winged scoters eat aquatic invertebrates such as mussels, clams, and oysters, as well as insects. The feed by diving deep in open water, often tearing the prey from underwater rocks, and swallowing it whole. Their gizzards, which make up nearly 10% of their body mass, crush and break up the hard shells.
White-winged scoters breed in Alaska and eastern Canada. They can be found on freshwater lakes in forests or surrounded by heavy vegetation. In winter they migrate to the east and west coasts of North American where they can be found mostly at sea in bays and coastal ocean.
