Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra), Pittsburgh Point, Lake Havasu, Mohave County

This Black Scoter was discovered by Sarah Carlson and James McKay and photographed by James McKay on 10 November 2013

The rarest of the three scoter species in Arizona with about 20 accepted records for the state. Most records are of female plumaged birds.

The large, completely orange-yellow knob on the bill of this otherwise all black duck makes this unmistakably a male Black Scoter. Male Common Scoters have much less yellow on the bill.  Common Scoter was recently split from Black Scoter and is found only in Europe.  There are no North American records. 

10 November 2013, photo by James McKay

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