Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca)
Medium sized dabbling duck. Male with grey plumage, mottled breast, black rump and vent lacking white framing. Female brown and easily overlooked and confused with female Mallards. Bill with dark center and evenly broad orange sides. Plumage more greyish than female mallard, with a more slender body and steeper forehead. Diagnostic white wingbars and contrasting white belly in all plumages.
Sound:Males display-call a short dry rattling or croaking sound and some high whistling notes. Female quacking similar to Mallard, but drier and shriller.
Display-call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCCC-photo:Smudge 9000, Licence,Link.
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
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC