Taxidermy: Duck - Velvet Scoter - Melanitta fusca

Taxidermy:  Duck - Velvet Scoter - adult female - Melanitta fusca

• Beautiful female duck, nice full feathers, on wooden base.
• Older vintage taxidermy (circa 1978) from my personal collection and before from an Italian collection. Still looking good, with good soft feathers. 
• Size: about 40x24x12 cm (40 cm length) - weight 640 grammes

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"
It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. It is the largest scoter at 51–58 cm. The male is all black, except for white around the eye and a white speculum. It has a bulbous yellow bill with a black base. The females are brown birds with two pale patches on each side of the head and white wing patches.