Stejneger's scoter, also known as the Siberian scoter, is a large sea duck. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck".
Region
Northeast Asia and North Pacific coasts
Typical Environment
Breeds across the Russian Far East, including northeastern Siberia, Kamchatka, and Sakhalin, on tundra and taiga lakes and slow rivers. During winter it moves to ice-free coastal waters of Japan, Korea, eastern China, and the Russian Pacific coast. It favors sheltered bays, estuaries, and nearshore seas with abundant mussel and clam beds. Outside the breeding season it forms dense rafts just offshore and often associates with other sea ducks.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Continental
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Stejneger's scoter, also called the Siberian scoter, is a large sea duck of the North Pacific. Males are nearly all black with a striking orange bill bearing a swollen knob and a small white comma-shaped mark behind the eye. It was long treated as conspecific with the North American White-winged Scoter but is now recognized as a separate species. Major threats include oil spills, gillnet bycatch, and disturbance in coastal wintering areas.
female with young in Tuva, Russia
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
strong flier with rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Outside breeding, birds gather in tight flocks or large rafts on coastal waters. Pairs form on wintering grounds and move to breed near freshwater lakes, nesting on the ground concealed in vegetation. Clutches are incubated by the female while males molt at sea. Broods often gather in loose creches on larger lakes.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Generally quiet at sea; males give mellow, whistling notes during courtship. Females produce lower, grating quacks and growls, especially when tending broods.
Plumage
Males are glossy black overall; females are dark chocolate-brown with paler cheek patches. In flight both sexes show a contrasting white wing patch on the secondaries.
Diet
Primarily dives for benthic mollusks such as mussels and clams. Also takes crustaceans, marine worms, and occasionally echinoderms. On breeding lakes it supplements the diet with aquatic insects and some plant material.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in shallow coastal waters over shellfish beds, around rocky reefs, and in protected bays and estuaries. On breeding grounds it forages on lakes and slow-flowing rivers with abundant invertebrates.
