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Velvet Scoters are large sea ducks. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Velvet Scoters are all-black, except for a small white spot under the eyes. Only a small white spot may be seen of the speculum on the folded wings. In flight it appears as a white bar on the trailing edge of the wing. Males have pale irises and an orange-yellow bill. Females are very dark grey with inconspicuous vermiculation. The only distinguishing features are faint yellowish loral spots and whitish spots behind the ear coverts. In females the white speculum is more prominently visible on the folded wing as a white stripe. Females have dark irises and a dark-grey bill. Juveniles resemble females, but with more clearly defined spots on the head and (inconspicuous) vermiculation on the body plumage.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Velvet Scoter is available HERE .

Velvet Scoters are a migratory Eurasian species. Their breeding range extends from northern Europe into western Asia, plus a few sites in eastern Turkey, south of the Caucasus mountain range. They overwinter in coastal areas and along major rivers of western Scandinavia, Britain and of central to southern Europe, plus along the south-eastern coastline of the Black Sea and the southern coastline of the Caspian Sea.

In Europe Velvet Scoters are found as breeding migrants in highland lakes of Scandinavia, in the border region of Norway and Sweden, in much of Finland (but not the southern lake districts) and, along the Finnish/Russian border region to Estonia. Their breeding range extends further eastwards through north-western Russia, from the Kola peninsula via the northern seaboard to the Ural mountains. They overwinter along the coastal fringe of Norway, along the East coast of Denmark and parts of the South coast of the Baltic Sea, along the West coast of Germany and the Benelux countries into France, to about the Gulf of Biscaye. They are also found mostly around the East coast of Britain. Apart from small areas along the Cote d'Azure and the Veneto, they are not usually found along the Mediterranean Sea. Inland, they overwinter in lakes and rivers of Poland, and also the major rivers such as the upper Rhine, the Po, and most of the Danube and the West coast of the Black Sea. Movements during migration of birds overwintering in coastal areas usually roughly follow coastlines.

Velvet Scoters breed in coastal wetlands with saline and brackish water, as well as (inland) freshwater wetlands, such as lakes in mountain ranges and tundra. During the winter, with the exception of major rivers such as the Danube, parts of the Rhine and the Po and some lakes and rivers in Poland, they are a more coastal species.

D. Wilczynska reports spotting a Velvet Scoter on the river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in April 2019. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by D. Wilczynska.