Black-headed Duck vs Common Scoter

Heteronetta atricapilla comparado con Melanitta nigra

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Atributo Black-headed Duck Common Scoter
Nombre científico Heteronetta atricapilla Melanitta nigra
Orden Anseriformes Anseriformes
Familia Anatidae Anatidae
Estado de conservación Least Concern Least Concern
Longitud
Envergadura 34,7 cm (13.7 in) 44,2 cm (17.4 in)
Peso 528,5 g (18.64 oz) 1127,25 g (39.76 oz)
Dieta Parasitic; adults may feed on aquatic plants, seeds, and invertebrates in South American marshes. Diet … Dives for bivalves, especially cockles, mussels, and clams, in shallow coastal seas. Also eats crustaceans …
Tamaño de la puesta 2 6-8
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Hábitats compartidos

Black-headed Duck only

Ninguno

Common Scoter only

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Song & Call Comparison

Black-headed Duck

Canto

Male gives a soft, raspy peeping note; female produces a muted quack. An obligate brood parasite with reduced vocalizations; subdued calls suit its secretive lifestyle among Argentine reeds.

Common Scoter

Canto

Male gives a soft, piping whistle; female produces a harsh, rasping call. The male's piping whistle is subtle; female's harsh calls dominate on European winter coasts and estuaries.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Black-headed Duck

Resident in southern South America from southern Brazil and Bolivia south to Argentina and Chile. Found on lakes and marshes in open lowlands.

Common Scoter

Breeds on moorland and boreal tundra from Iceland and Britain east to western Siberia. Winters on northwestern European coasts and the Baltic Sea.

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Estado de conservación

Least Concern

Black-headed Duck

Least Concern

Common Scoter

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How to Tell Them Apart

Black-headed Duck

Plumaje

Male has distinctive jet-black head and neck, warm chestnut-brown back, and pale buff underparts; blue-grey bill with red base. Female is streaked brown above with pale supercilium and whitish underparts.

Common Scoter

Plumaje

Male is entirely sooty black without white markings; orange-yellow patch on upper bill with small black knob. Female brownish-black above with contrasting pale cream cheeks and throat.

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About These Birds

Black-headed Duck

El pato cabeza negra es un pequeño pato buceador (~530 g) de América del Sur, familia Anatidae, y el único miembro del género Heteronetta. Tiene la cabeza negra en el macho y cuerpo marrón. Parásita de nido obligada: pone sus huevos en los nidos de otras aves acuáticas, especialmente fochas y pollas de agua. Habita en lagos y lagunas con vegetación emergente de Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay. No cría su propia cría nunca.

Common Scoter

El negrón común es el más negro de los negretes, con el macho enteramente negro y solo un pequeño parche amarillo en el pico. Cría en la tundra y los bosques boreales del norte de Europa y Asia occidental, e inverna en las costas del Atlántico norte y el Mar del Norte. En el mar forma grandes y compactas bandadas en reposo conocidas como 'balsas'.

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