|
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus ''Melanitta''. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills. Females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and winter farther south in temperate zones of those continents. They form large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. Their lined nests are built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. These species dive for crustaceans and molluscs. ==Species== There are five species,〔 grouped into two subgenera: * Subgenus ''Oidemia'': * * ''Melanitta americana'' – black or American scoter * * ''Melanitta nigra'' – common scoter * subgenus ''Melanitta'': * * ''Melanitta fusca'' – velvet scoter * * ''Melanitta deglandi'' – white-winged scoter * * ''Melanitta perspicillata'' – surf scoter The presumed fossil "scoter" ''Melanitta ceruttii'', which lived in California during the Late Pliocene is now placed in the genus ''Histrionicus''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scoter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|