The velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca), also called a velvet duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic west of the Yenisey basin. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas 'black' and netta 'duck'. The species name is from the Latin fuscus 'dusky brown'. A small, isolated population nests in eastern Turkey. Stejneger's scoter and the white-winged scoter are sometimes considered conspecific with the velvet scoter, and its two constituent subspecies are then known as M. f. stejnegeri and M. f. deglandi. Velvet, Stejneger's, and white-winged scoter, along with the surf scoter, are placed in the subgenus Melanitta, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, black scoter and common scoters. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)