Species:

Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca)

Goosander (Mergus merganser)

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Length (cm):
51-58
58-66
Wingspan (cm):
90-99
82-97
Weight (gram):
1100-2000
900-2100
Size group:
Crow-size
Bigger than a crow
Main Texts:
Appearance:

White secondaries the most striking feature in all plumages. Generally heavy built with large bill, heavy head, thick neck and short tail. Male: black with white crescent below eye and partly orange bill. Female sooty black with variable light patches at lore and cheek. Flaps it's wings with a raised head when on water. Dives without jumping and with wings slightly open. Swimming birds may not always show white secondaries. Tends to form less dense flocks than Common Scoter, often with birds in single file.

Sound:

Seldom heard. Calls: Short accented "tup tup tup" and a shivering "gahhahahaha".

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Largest sawbill. Male: white to pinkish white plumage with black back and dark green head. Female with grey body and brown head. Sharp division between brown head and whitish breast, together with contrasting white chin, distinguishes it from female Red-breasted Merganser. Both sexes with hook at tip of bill, dense crest and swollen base of bill. Wing-bars all white. Flight silhouette more diver-like than duck-like.

Sound:

Male: Mostly heard when courting. A twanging, disyllabic "whip-ooooo", first syllable ascending and second whistle-like and rapidly falling. Female: A coarse "ahrrr ahrrrr", or a raspy drawn "ah-ahrrrrrr ah-ahrrrrr", slightly rising, then falling in pitch. Also various cackling sounds.

Display-call male:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Paul Driver,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Similar species (image):
Similar species (sound):
Silhouette Group:
Duck-like
Silhouette
Duck-like
Silhouette
Several different images of the species
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Several different sounds of the species