White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca), Lake Marguerite, Scottsdale, Maricopa County

This White-winged Scoter was found and photographed by Troy Corman on 01 January 2017

Casual fall and winter visitor in Arizona.

Larger, dark brown to blackish duck, long sloping dark bill, white wing panel often visible on resting birds, and juveniles and females have two pale head spots with one behind the eye and the other between the eye and bill base.
The feathering extending well onto the bill, in addition to the white wing patch, help distinguish this from a Surf Scoter.

01 January 2017, photo by Troy Corman

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