Features: Black scoters‘ plumage is pure black uninterrupted by any white. The swollen bright orange-yellow knob on the otherwise black bill is smaller than that of other scoters. Females' uniform soot upperparts and dark head cap are clearly delineated from paler cheeks.

Habitat: This scoter can be uncommon to locally common along the coast fall through spring, usually on the ocean.

Techniques: Like other scoters, black scoters are ducks of the open ocean, and inaccessible to most hunters.