Beautiful Yellow Underwing vs Common Scoter

Anarta myrtilli compared with Melanitta nigra

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Beautiful Yellow Underwing	Common Scoter
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Anseriformes (Anseriformes)
Family	Noctuidae	Anatidae
Genus	Anarta	Melanitta
Species	Anarta myrtilli	Melanitta nigra

Evolutionary Relationship

Beautiful Yellow Underwing and Common Scoter share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

LC — Least Concern

Common Scoter

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Beautiful Yellow Underwing	Common Scoter
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Scoter

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

The Beautiful Yellow Underwing (Anarta myrtilli) is a species in the genus Anarta. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Scoter

<em>Melanitta nigra</em>, the common scoter, is a sea duck in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, breeding across subarctic and boreal regions of Europe and northeastern North America. This species winters primarily along coastal marine environments, with records from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United States reflecting both breeding and wintering distributions. The common scoter typically nests near freshwater lakes and bogs in boreal and tundra habitats, migrating to sheltered coastal bays and estuaries during winter where it dives for bivalves, crustaceans, and other benthic invertebrates. Males are predominantly black with a characteristic orange-yellow knob at the base of the bill, while females are brown with pale cheek patches. <em>Melanitta nigra</em> is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though populations have experienced declines in some regions due to changes in wintering habitat quality and food availability. Biological traits for this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature, including comprehensive data on average lifespan, body length, weight, and full dietary composition across seasons.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden