BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Melanitta deglandi
White-winged Scoter
| Scientific Name: | Melanitta deglandi (Bonaparte, 1850) | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Melanitta fusca
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| English Name: | White-winged Scoter | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithological Society (AOS). Chesser, R.T., K.J. Burns, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, I.J. Lovette, P.C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen, Jr., D.F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2019. Sixtieth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds. The Auk 136(3):1-23. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Melanitta fusca has been split into three species and the one species that is found in BC (and North America) will now be known as M. deglandi and retain the English name, White-winged Scoter (Chesser, Burns, Cicero et. al. 2019). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-WWSC | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Aug 2020) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4S5 (Mar 2015) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Lakes / Lake / Unknown
Ocean / Intertidal Marine / Unknown Ocean / Sheltered Waters - Marine / Unknown Ocean / Subtidal Marine / Unknown Other Unique Habitats / Estuary / Unknown Stream/River / Stream/River / Unknown |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species occurs in lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams in tundra, taiga, and prairie; in winter, mostly shallow marine littoral areas, bays, and estuaries, less commonly on large lakes (AOS 2019). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species breeds in North America from northern Alaska, northern Yukon, northwestern and southern Mackenzie, southern Keewatin, and northern Manitoba south to central Alaska, southern Yukon, interior British Columbia, southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, northern North Dakota (formerly), southern Manitoba, northern Ontario, and western Quebec, occurring in summer to northeastern Mackenzie and from Hudson Bay east to Labrador and Newfoundland. It winters in North America on the Pacific coast from the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula south to central California, less commonly south to northern Baja California, on the Great Lakes, and on the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland south to New Jersey, less commonly south to North Carolina and rarely south to Florida. It migrates regularly through Utah, North Dakota, the Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Casual on Melville Island, through the interior of North America south to Baja California, Arizona, Sonora, New Mexico, southern Texas, and the Gulf coast (east to Florida), in Greenland, and in northwestern Europe (most records from Iceland, the Faeroes, and Denmark) (AOS 2019). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
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| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
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| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I.McT. Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 1. Nonpasserines: Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl. Royal B.C. Mus. in association with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. 514pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Melanitta deglandi. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Apr 6, 2026).