Scaups
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Greater Scaup (scroll down) ... Lesser Scaup ... New Zealand Scaup
The Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), or just Scaup in Europe, is a small diving duck.
It breeds on the ground by lakes and bogs on the tundra and at the northern limits of the boreal forest across Arctic and subarctic regions of northern North America, Europe and Asia. Greater Scaup migrate southwards to winter in flocks to coastal waters.
This bird's name may come from its display call scaup scaup. It is usually silent when not breeding.
The Greater Scaup is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Description:
The adult Greater Scaup is 42-51 cm long with a 71-80 cm wingspan, larger than the Lesser Scaup. It has a blue bill and yellow eyes.
The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a black breast, a light back, a black tail and a white bottom.
The adult female has a white band at the base of the bill and a brown head and body.
Nearctic* Greater Scaup are separable from Palaearctic* (photo to right birds by stronger vermiculation on the mantle and scapulars, and are considered a separate subspecies, A. m. nearctica.
Diet:
The Greater Scaup mainly eat mollusks and aquatic plants, obtained by diving and swimmming underwater.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Related Web Resources: Greater Scaup (USGS) ... Greater Scaup (Virtual Bird Field Guide) ... Greater Scaup (Birds of Nova Scotia)
Lesser Scaups
The Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small diving duck.
Adults are 38-45 cm long, with a blue bill and yellow eyes. Adult males have a dark head with a purple sheen, a black breast, a light back, a black tail and a white bottom. Adult females have a white band at the base of the bill and a brown head and body. They are smaller than the Greater Scaup.
Their breeding habitat is marsh ponds in Alaska and western Canada. They nest in a sheltered location on the ground near water.
They migrate in flocks and winter in lakes, rivers and sheltered coastal waters along the west coast of North America, the southern United States and northern South America. They are more likely to be found on freshwater than Greater Scaup. These birds move south late in the fall and return in early spring.
They are a rare but apparently increasing vagrant to western Europe.
These birds dive and swim underwater, occasionally dabbling. They mainly eat mollusks and aquatic plants. It has been reported that both the Lesser and the Greater Scaup have shifted their traditional migration routes to take advantage of the presence of zebra mussels in Lake Erie. This may pose a risk to these birds because zebra mussels are efficient filter feeders and so accumulate environmental contaminants rapidly.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Related Web Resources: Lesser Scaup (USGS) ... Lesser Scaup (Birds of Nova Scotia) ... Lesser Scaup (Virtual Bird Field Guide) ... Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis) (Photo & Info)
New Zealand Scaup
The New Zealand Scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae) is a diving duck species of the genus Aythya. It is endemic to New Zealand. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
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