Aythya marila
The Greater Scaup is a medium-sized diving duck with a distinctive rounded head and blue-grey bill. Males in breeding plumage have a glossy black head, neck, and breast, contrasting with a white body and grey back. The wings feature white patches visible in flight.
Females are predominantly brown, with a white patch at the base of the bill. Both sexes have yellow eyes. In non-breeding plumage, males resemble females but retain darker head coloration.
Juvenile scaup are similar in appearance to females but have less vivid white facial markings and are a duller, paler shade of brown all over.
Length
39cm to 56cm
Wingspan
71cm to 84cm
Weight
726g to 1.36kg
Woodland
Garden
Wetland
Coastal
Urban
Farmland
Grassland
Desert
Tundra
Rainforest
Mountain
Savanna
Greater Scaups inhabit coastal marine areas, large lakes, and deep freshwater marshes. They breed in the boreal and subarctic regions of North America and Eurasia, including Alaska, Canada, and northern Europe.
During winter, they migrate to coastal areas and large inland water bodies. In North America, they are common along both coasts and the Great Lakes- mainly to the Atlantic coast states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
In Europe, they winter around the British Isles (particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland), the Baltic Sea, and other coastal regions.
Sea level to 1,000 meters
Temperate, Subarctic
This map gives you a rough idea of where you might spot a Greater Scaup. The coloured areas show countries where these birds have been seen.
A few things to keep in mind:
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