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White-winged Scoter
[Melanitta deglandi]
[Length 21 in. Wingspan 34 in.]
The male White-winged Scoter is a sea duck with an all black body, a small white eye patch, and a red bill which is covered by feathers on its upper half.
The female is a dull brownish color, with a grayish patch over the ear and another in front of the eye.
A white wing patch is often visible near the rear when the bird is in the water.
In flight the white speculum (trailing edge of the inner wing), for which the bird is named, is easily seen.
White-winged Scoters breed in central Alaska, and western and central Canada.
In winter they move south along the coasts and are found from the Aleutian Islands and the southern coast of Alaska to Baja California in the west, and eastern Canada to the Carolinas in the east.
This female White-winged Scoter was photographed at Bodega Bay, California, USA.
Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film.
(Date: November 1981)
(use image name "dukwws" for inquiries)
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