White-winged Scoter
Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Category III · rare species
Melanitta deglandi Bonaparte, 1850
Дөңтұмсық тұрпан
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male VKO Katon-Karagay
female VKO Katon-Karagay
juvenile Rakhmanovskoe lake, Southern Altai
- status in Kazakhstan
- nests here · on migration
- conservation status
- Red Book of Kazakhstan · III IUCN LCleast concern
- when to see it
- June — October
- on the site
- 32 observationslast: 27 Jul 2026
Description
Male White-winged Scoter is glossy-black; wing-speculum and under-eye spot are white. Legs are red. Eyes are grayish-white. Specific features: adult male on base of bill have large outgrowth which top-end impend forward; nostrils are rounded (Velvet Scoter has narrow long nostrils); lores feathers close to nostrils less than 5 mm. Female is dark-brownish, belly is with whitish tips of feathers, speculum is white; on lores and on ear there are two large patches, paler than upperparts. Legs are dirty-yellow, bill grayish-brown, eyes are brownish. Juveniles are similar on female. Sizes: wing 250 – 290 mm, tarsus 45 – 52 mm, bill 40-50 mm.
Distribution
White-winged Scoter breeds on mountain lakes of Southern Altai, in Bukhtarma valley near Rakhmanovskiye springs, on lake at source of Bukhtarma river, in western Kara-Alakhinskoye uplands to Ukok plateau. One brood recorded at Kalbinskiy Altai, on lake in pine forest, in 1961 by I.A. Dolgushin. On Markakol lake only observed during seasonal migration.
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- Breeding
- Migration
- Wintering
Map © Birds.kz. Copying without permission is prohibited
Subspecies
- White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri
Latest observations
all species photos · 32 →
4
Biology
White-winged Scoter is rare breeding migrant. Inhabits forested mountain lakes at 1760-2300 m. Appears end May - early June. One nest found near water under bush, in a hollow amongst moss lined with down. Clutches of 6-9 eggs in June - July. Only female incubates and cares for juveniles, recorded end July - early September. Males gather to moult on large mountain lakes. Autumn departure in October.
Sources
"Птицы Казахстана" том 1. АН КазССР. Алма-Ата, 1960.
Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005.
Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999.