Melanitta deglandi

Velvet scoter

Taxonomy
Phylum Chordates (Chordata)
Class Birds (Aves)
Order  (Anseriformes)
Family  (Anatidae)
Genus  (Melanitta)
Species Authority Bonoparte, 1850
Information
Summary Status: very rare (Category III), only irregularly nesting in Kazakstan today. At the beginning of the 20th century, the velvet scoter was found in the most southern part of Kazakstan and in the Altai mountains along the Russian border where it nested near deep mountain lakes with stony bottoms and brushy shorelines. Now only a few specimens can be seen passing through Kazakstan on annual migrations to and from eastern Siberia and northern North America. The velvet scoter may still occasionally visit artesian springs near Rakhmanov Springs Lake. A special reserve should be created near Rakhmanov Springs Lake to protect and encourage stopovers of this species during its annual migrations.

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