Places and times seen in Munakata city

Winterbird. From November to March, you can see the flock that floats off the coast from the shore of Kanamein to Kanazaki. Sometimes it is found near the fishing port such as Kaminomi and Kanazaki.

Characteristic

Total length 31 cm. It is one size larger than the same friend's brevis. Same color of both sexes.
In the winters, the top is black from the head and the face is white, but the border between the black and white of the face is unclear and blurred. Behind the eyes, the front side of the neck, the chest, the side are whitish, the others are dark brown, and it looks like two color two tone. The iris stands red.
Summer wings are head to chest, upper side black, eyes behind the golden chestnut decorations iris is red and conspicuous.

Habit

Many live in small groups or herds, but in the early spring it becomes a huge group. In winter we also see individuals acting alone.
If you are a flock, dive all over the sea all at once. The diving time is relatively long, and it often floats further from the place where you dived than you thought.

distribution

It overcomes the coast of the Japanese archipelago, the middle and south of the East China Sea, and the northern part of the South China Sea.
Over the Pacific coast of the western United States (excluding Alaska), the coastal area of Central America, the coast of the Aegean coast and the like also overwinter.
Breeding areas are located in the Siberian coastal province, inland parts of the United States, Southern Canada, and inland parts from Eastern Europe to Russia.

Other

In the summer winter and the winter feathers, the opinion is different as they seem to be mistaken as seemingly different birds. In Munakata, it is rare to see complete summer feathers, but sometimes we see flocks that are turning into summer wings around the end of March.