Velvet Scoter

Melanitta fusca Vulnerable Estimated to have undergone a population decline of 30-49% over the last three generations, however the rate of decline has apparently slowed. The causes are not fully understood and further research is needed to inform conservation actions. Male is blackish and has yellow and black bill, peaking at nostrils, and pale eye with white mark underneath; female is medium to dark brown with paler greyish-brown patches between eyes and bill and adjacent to ear coverts.