Surf Scoter:
The Surf Scoter is a black/white seaduck common on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in the winter. It has a boldly patterned head that is the basis for its colloquial name "skunk-headed coot".
Other names include "Goggle-nose", "Horse-head Coot", "Plaster-bill", "Snuff-taker", "Blossom-billed Coot", "Bottle-nosed DIver" and "Mussel Bill". The Surf Scoter is named for their propensity to forage in ocean surf and breaking waves. Its name (Melanitta perspicillata) is from Latin for conspicuous or spectacular, in reference to the bizarre, multicolored drake bill.
[Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, "All About Birds" website, 2010, and Todd, F.S., 1996, "Natural History of the Waterfowl"]
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Columbia River at Clatsop Spit, Oregon ...
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Click image to enlarge
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Surf Scoter, male (left) and female (right), Columbia River at Clatsop Spit, Oregon.
Day heavy overcast but no rain.
Image taken May 2, 2010.
Canon Rebel T1i, 300mm.
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