Game Birds of the World

The American scoter is often called the black scoter, a very similar Eurasian species now regarded as taxonomically distinct. In North America it may be the rarest of the three scoters. The plumage of the adult male is entirely black, and males also have a distinctive swelling at the base of the bill. The female is mostly dark brown, but its head is two-toned with a darker upper half and lighter lower half. Like all scoters, this bird is mostly found along coastlines, but at times winters on large lakes such as the Great Lakes. Like other scoters, it forages for various mollusks such as mussels, usually just outside the zone of breaking waves in waters under 25 feet deep, and at times may dive to depths of at least 40 feet.

American scoters arrive on their arctic tundra breeding grounds rather late, not nesting in Alaska until late June, or about two weeks later than eiders in the same area. The females often nest under dense shrubby cover and lay clutches of 6–9 eggs. Incubation requires 27–28 days, and during this time males abandon their mates and usually migrate some distance before starting their post-breeding molts. The fledging period lasts about six to seven weeks, and fall migration begins very soon after the young are able to fly.