Species · accepted · checked 2026-08-05

Melanitta perspicillata

Surf Scoter

WoRMS 159095ITIS 175170key itis:175170

2026-08-05: worms_id 159095 via WoRMS TSN crosswalk (status accepted)

Silhouette · Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · CC BY-NC 3.0 · PhyloPic, drawn from Melanitta perspicillata

Surf Scoter54 cm

bongo net ring71 cm

max · sealifebase

Photograph of Melanitta perspicillata — Photo · Peter Pearsall/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, no known copyright restrictions (public domain) · Public domain · inat

The surf scoter is a large sea duck native to North America. Adult males are almost entirely black with characteristic white patches on the forehead and the nape and adult females are slightly smaller and browner.W CalCOFI holds 115 observations of it in 1 dataset between 1987 and 2022.R

115
observations: 115
records: 115
sampling events: 1987–2022
years: 1
datasets

Observed in
i
One row per dataset, one cell per year, darker with more observations — the same strip the front door draws per dataset. Each row ends with the name that dataset uses (dataset_taxon); the accepted name is written once, in the title above. A quiet pill marks a name the authority does not accept.

Seabirds & Marine Mammals 115 obs · 115 events · 1987–2022
name used: Melanitta perspicillata Surf Scoter · code SUSC

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Groups

calcofi:seabirds

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

Explorer db-query

ERDDAPCalCOFI's own server, the Seabirds & Marine Mammals table constrained to this taxon

https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/tabledap/farallon_bird-mammal.html?&taxon_key=%22itis:175170%22

Melanitta perspicillata

How big is itiEvery mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Groups

Ways iniRead from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.