Melanitta perspicillata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) 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. Surf scoters breed in Northern Canada and Alaska and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. They are diving ducks and mainly feed on benthic invertebrates, mussels representing an important part of their diet.
In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the surf scoter in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The great black duck from Hudson's Bay". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the surf scoter with the ducks and geese in the genus Anas. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas perspicillata and cited Edwards' work. The surf scoter is now one of six species placed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 15 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 16 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 17 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 18 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 21 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Biodome | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Surf Scoter sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 176th most-seen of the 194 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Surf Scoter in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Grand Canyon National Park's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain against almost none in June.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Surf Scoter sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Surf Scoter sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 21st at under 5%. The best odds are in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 40%), Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 30%) and Redwood National Park (United States, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Surf Scoter that you can see in Grand Canyon National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Mallard (about 10%), Common Merganser (about 10%) and American Wigeon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Surf Scoter is recorded against all the birds logged in Grand Canyon National Park (10 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
