Common scoter
Melanitta nigra (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common scoter (Melanitta nigra), also called the black scoter, is a waterfowl species in the family Anatidae and order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.05 kg, ranging from 987 g to 1.108 kg, and a wingspan of 85 cm.
Quick facts about the common scoter
A migratory, aquatic carnivore of wetland habitats, it is classed as an aquatic predator and has a geographic range of 4,515,000 km². It lays one clutch per year of 8.5 eggs, incubated for 28.4 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 987 g – 1.11 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 43 cm – 54 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 85 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 16.8 years – 17.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 28.4 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 6.9 – 8.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.24 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common scoter?
Photos of the common scoter
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
_-_Spiekeroog,_Nationalpark_Nieders%C3%A4chsisches_Wattenmeer.jpg){kind=link}
_BHL14746699.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the common scoter live?
Not recorded
What is the common scoter?
The common scoter (Melanitta nigra) is a large sea duck, 43–54 cm (17–21 in) in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic east to the Olenyok River. The black scoter (M. americana) of North America and eastern Siberia was formerly considered to be a subspecies.
From the Wikipedia article “Common scoter” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_scoter&oldid=1383968569), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common scoter sound like?
Is the common scoter endangered?
The common scoter is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common scoter classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusMelanitta
- SpeciesMelanitta nigra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Anas atra, Anas nigra, Fuligula nigra, Melanitta gibbera, Melanitta nigra nigra, Melanitta nigripes, Oedemia nigra, Oidemia leucocephala, Oidemia nigra, Oidemia nigra nigra
Other names and names in other languages (95)
- Black scoterEnglish
- بط أسقطورArabic
- أسقطور شائعArabic
- بط أسقطور الشائعArabic
- Aneda marinaAragonese
- zapateruAsturian
- Coríu MoruAsturian
- Qara qılquyruqAzerbaijani
- Нырок-сіньгаBelarusian
- Нырок-сiньгаBelarusian
- Траурна потапницаBulgarian
- Duanenn voutinBreton
- Ànec negreCatalan
- ànec negre comúCatalan
- Шим лыдыMari
- Хура кӑвакалChuvash
- turpan černýCzech
- Môr-Hwyaid DuWelsh
- mor-hwyaden dduWelsh
- Môr-hwyaden DduWelsh
- sortandDanish
- TrauerenteGerman
- Atlantische TrauerenteGerman
- ΜαυρόπαπιαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΜαυρόπαπιαGreek
- (Ευρωπαϊκή) ΜαυρόπαπιαGreek
- nigra maranasoEsperanto
- Negrón comúnSpanish
- Negreta negraSpanish
- mustvaerasEstonian
- Ahatebeltz arruntBasque
- Ahatebeltz arruntaBasque
- سیاه اردک معمولیPersian
- mustalintuFinnish
- KolontFaroese
- Macreuse noireFrench
- Suart anNorthern Frisian
- Scótar dubhIrish
- Lacha scótarachIrish
- scótarScottish Gaelic
- Lach bheag dhubScottish Gaelic
- Lach bheag dhubhScottish Gaelic
- PentumeiroGalician
- Mourelo eurasiáticoGalician
- Thunnag ghob chrottaghManx
- Thunnag ghob-chrottaghManx
- קטיפנית שחורהHebrew
- crna patkaCroatian
- fekete réceHungarian
- HrafnsöndIcelandic
- orchetto marinoItalian
- クロガモJapanese
- ヨーロッパクロガモJapanese
- Қара тұрпанKazakh
- 검둥오리Korean
- 유럽검둥오리Korean
- Mor-hos duCornish
- Schwaarz MierintLuxembourgish
- juodoji antisLithuanian
- melnā pīleLatvian
- Borka SewdaMaltese
- svartandNorwegian Bokmål
- zwarte zee-eendDutch
- GrisettePicard
- markaczkaPolish
- markaczka (zwyczajna)Polish
- negrolaPortuguese
- negrola-comumPortuguese
- negrola-pretaPortuguese
- Pato-negroPortuguese
- Pato-pretoPortuguese
- Anda nairaRomansh
- Raţă negricioasăRomanian
- черный турпанRussian
- чёрный турпанRussian
- Буор атах андыYakut
- NjurgguNorthern Sami
- turpan čiernySlovak
- Crna racaSlovenian
- črna racaSlovenian
- rosa e zezëAlbanian
- rosa kadifeAlbanian
- Crni turpanSerbian
- sjöorreSwedish
- kara ordekTurkish
- Bayağı kara ördekTurkish
- kara ördekTurkish
- СиньгаUkrainian
- синьга євразійськаUkrainian
- האַפֿקעYiddish
- טרױער־ענטלYiddish
- 黑海番鸭Chinese
- 普通海番鴨Chinese
- 普通海番鸭Chinese
- 黑海番鴨〔普通海番鴨〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common scoter
Other species in the same genus Melanitta.
Velvet scoter
Melanitta fusca
Surf duck
Melanitta perspicillata
Black scoter
Melanitta americana
White-winged scoter
Melanitta deglandi
Hook-billed scoter
Melanitta stejnegeri
CompareCommon scoter vs Velvet scoterCommon scoter vs Surf duckCommon scoter vs Black scoterCommon scoter vs White-winged scoter
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common scoter?
The common scoter is a bird, a waterfowl species in the family Anatidae of the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the common scoter?
An adult common scoter weighs 1.05 kg, with reported values from 987 g to 1.108 kg.
What does the common scoter eat?
The common scoter is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
What habitat does the common scoter live in?
The common scoter lives in wetland habitats and has an aquatic lifestyle.
Is the common scoter endangered?
No. The common scoter is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common scoter live?
The common scoter has a lifespan of 16.77 years, with values up to 17.92 years reported.
How many eggs does the common scoter lay?
The common scoter lays 8.5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 28.4 days.
Who named the common scoter?
The common scoter, Melanitta nigra, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common scoter (Melanitta nigra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-scoter
“Common scoter (Melanitta nigra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-scoter.
@misc{common_scoter_2026,
title = {Common scoter (Melanitta nigra)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-scoter},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}