Never heard of a Black Scoter being shot in Texas. Pretty easy telling them form others by the yellow or orange knob at the base of the bill. They usually fly the west and east coasts.
Incredibly sorry about the picture, my buddy took the picture on his phone and hasn't replied back yet. On Google this is exactly what it looked like except the body was completely black like a coot and had the definite white stripe on side of head
The ones we've seen have been with redheads. Due to good sources on the Great Lakes-there's more and more sea ducks using the Great Lakes. The young ones mix in with the divers that head to our area.
It came through with about 100 others. I had no idea what they were when flying by, walking towards it I thought I had a redhead hen but when I picked it up I knew it was something I had never seen. Asked the game warden and of course got a few idiotic suggestions of what it is.... Do they even teach those guys duck species?