Greater Scaup

Greater Scaup, adult male in breeding plumage (Def. Alternate)

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Greater Scaup, female; Coronado, CA

Greater Scaup, female; Anchorage, AK

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The Greater Scaup is found primarily along the seacoast and on large bodies of water. Unlike its look-alike relative the Lesser Scaup, the Greater Scaup is found across Eurasia as well as North America.

Description

• Medium-sized diving duck.
• Rounded head.
• Bill bluish with black tip.
• Male with black head, chest, and rear end, and gray sides (black on the ends and white in the middle).
• Female dull brown, with white patch on face at base of bill.

• Size: 39-56 cm (15-22 in)
• Wingspan: 72-79 cm (28-31 in)
• Weight: 726-1360 g (25.63-48.01 ounces)

Sex Differences

Breeding male bold black-and-white; female drabber and more brown with white patch at base of bill.

Sound

Male makes a soft, fast whistle. Female makes hoarse, raspy "arr-arr-arr."

Conservation Status

Because of similarities to abundant Lesser Scaup, accurate winter counts difficult to obtain. Populations may be declining.

Other Names

Fuligule milouinan (French)
Porron bastardo, Buixot (Spanish)
Scaup (British) (English)

Cool Facts

• Occasionally an older female Greater Scaup will have male-like head color and male patterning on her back, but she still has the typical white face patch of a female.
• Once incubation begins, the male Greater Scaup leaves the female and goes to molt on some relatively large, isolated lake. These lakes are used year after year during molt, and may be in the immediate vicinity of the breeding wetlands or many miles away. They are relatively shallow and contain abundant food and suitable cover.

• The nest of a Greater Scaup is usually lined with a thick layer of down plucked by the mother from her own breast. Nests of poor-condition females may lack down and instead may contain small, grayish-white feathers plucked from beneath the outer body feathers.

Sources used to construct this page:

Kessel, B., D. A. Rocque, and J. S. Barclay. 2002. Greater Scaup (Aythya marila). In The Birds of North America, No. 650 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA