2019 split
White-winged Scoter split into three species
White-winged Scoter became three species. The North American bird keeps the name White-winged Scoter; Stejneger's Scoter lives in Asia and Velvet Scoter in Europe.
Updated
What changed
Nests in Alaska and northern Canada, east to James Bay. Winters on the Pacific coast from the Aleutians to central California, on the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to New Jersey, and on the Great Lakes.
Nests in Siberia and Mongolia, and winters off Japan and Korea. A rare late-spring visitor to the Bering Sea off western Alaska.
Nests from Norway across northern Russia to central Siberia, and winters mostly on the Baltic Sea.
Who decided, and when
- eBird and the Clements Checklist: its 2018 update split off Velvet Scoter, the bird of Europe
- American Ornithological Society (AOS): the 60th Supplement to its Check-list, which made all three species at once
- eBird and the Clements Checklist: its 2019 update split off Stejneger's Scoter, the bird of Asia
- AviList, the shared world checklist: agrees, with the same names
Which one did you see?
Go by where you saw it. Anywhere in North America away from western Alaska, it's White-winged Scoter.
Stejneger's Scoter is the one to think about only in western Alaska, where it is rare. Velvet Scoter is the bird of Europe.
Adult males differ in the shape and color of the bill, among other things.
What it does to your list
For birders in the US and Canada nothing changes: White-winged Scoter keeps its name.
If you have also seen Velvet Scoter in Europe, or Stejneger's Scoter in Asia or Alaska, your total goes up by one (or two).
Check your own list. Drop your eBird download or type your birds: the free checker shows which of them this and other recent changes touched.
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