Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A black crown stripe runs over the top of the head, with chestnut patches on either side. A black-bordered white collar separates the head from the breast. The body is largely a lighter slate blue with chestnut sides. A black-bordered white bar divides the breast vertically from the sides. The tail is black, long and pointed.
The upperparts are glossy blue-black upperparts, with bluish and greenish iridescence especially prominent on the secondaries (lower arm feathers). The male is much larger than the female, and has a large black knob on the bill. Young birds are dull buff below and on the face and neck, with dull brown upperparts, top of the head and eyestripe.
[6] [7] The most noticeable feature on adult birds, is the dark body contrasting with a whitish head and neck. Males have mostly dull yellowish bill, blackish mottling on the head and upper neck, white lesser median coverts and inner edges of tertials and bluish-grey secondaries. In flight, white wing-coverts contrast with the rest of the wings.
The black and the white-winged scoters are physically very similar to the surf scoter but in flight, the surf scoter is the only one with completely dark wings. [13] Like all sea ducks, the surf scoter becomes flightless during the simultaneous molt of its flight feathers. This vulnerable period happens usually in late July through early August ...
For example, the white-faced whistling ducks with more black coloration are commonly found in western Africa where rainfall supersedes the dry season. The back and wings are dark brown to black, and the underparts are black with a fine white barring on the flanks. The neck is chestnut. Males and females have similar plumage.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
The upperparts are glossy blue-black upperparts, with bluish and greenish iridescence especially prominent on the secondaries (lower arm feathers). The male is much larger than the female, and has a large black knob on the bill. If seen at a distance, immature comb ducks can also be mistaken for a fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor).
The velvet scoter is 51–56 cm (20–22 in) in length and has a wingspan of 90–99 cm (35–39 in). It is a relatively large sea duck with a thick neck, a long broad bill and a pointed tail. The plumage of the male is glossy black with large white wing patches and small white patches behind the eye. The bill is partly orange.