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Cool Facts |
Photo
taken from:
The
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by
David Allen Sibley
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- 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.
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Description |
Adult 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.
Male Description
Breeding Plumage: Head, neck, upper back, and breast
black; head with greenish iridescence. Back white to gray, covered with
thin, black wavy lines. Rump black. Belly white. Sides white, with some
fine dark streaks. Undertail black.
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Nonbreeding Plumage: Similar to female, but with only a
few white feathers on face instead of a large white patch. Head and neck
blackish brown, lighter on cheeks and chin. Breast dark with some white
edging to feathers. Back brown with white edges to feathers. Underparts
mottled brownish and white. Tail dark grayish.Female Description
White area at base of bill. Head and neck dark brown with some light
mottling. Back darkish brown with white flecks. Breast buffy brown.
Belly whitish. Sides and flanks brown. Tail dark brown.Immature
Description
Similar to adult female. |
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Range Map |
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Taxonomic Hierarchy |
© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Kingdom: |
Animalia |
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Phylum: |
Chordata |
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Subphylum: |
Vertebrata |
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Class: |
Aves |
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Order: |
Anseriformes |
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Family: |
Anatidae |
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Subfamily: |
Anatinae |
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Genus: |
Aythya |
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Species: |
Aythya marila |
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Subspecies: |
- Aythya marila marila
- Aythya marila nearctica
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Sound |
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Male makes a soft, fast whistle. Female makes hoarse, raspy
"arr-arr-arr."
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Identification and
Information
See
Anatomy
of a Bird
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Body |
- Length
Range: 44 cm (17.5 in)
- Weight:
952 g (33.6 oz)
- Size:
Large (16 - 32 in)
- Color
Primary: White, Black, Gray, Sheen or
Iridescence
- Underparts:
White
- Upperparts:
Finely barred gray back and flanks.
- Back
Pattern: Barred or banded
- Belly
Pattern: Solid
- Breast
Pattern: Solid
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Head |
- Bill Shape:
Spatulate
- Eye Color:
Yellow.
- Head
Pattern: Plain
- Crown Color:
Black with green gloss.
- Forehead
Color: Black with green gloss.
- Nape Color:
Black with green gloss
- Throat
Color: Black
- Cere color:
No Data
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Flight |
- Flight
Pattern: Direct flight with strong rapid
wing beats.
- Wingspan
Range: 81 cm (32 in)
- Wing Shape:
Tapered-Wings
- Tail Shape:
Rounded Tail
- Tail
Pattern: Plain
- Upper Tail:
Black
- Under Tail:
Black
- Leg Color:
Gray
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Breeding |
- Breeding Location:
Ponds, Lakes, Beaches, coastal
- Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Colonial nester
- Breeding Population:
Common to uncommon
- Egg Color:
Dark olive buff
- Number of Eggs:
5 - 11
- Incubation Days:
24 - 28
- Egg Incubator:
Female
- Nest Material:
Decaying plant material and down
- Migration: Migratory
- Condition at Hatching: Downy and
eyes open. Leave nest as soon as they are
dry. Feed themselves immediately.
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Other Names |
Similar Species |
- Scaup (British English)
- Fuligule milouinan (French)
- Porron bastardo, Buixot (Spanish)
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- Lesser Scaup extremely similar, but is slightly smaller, has bump on
back of head instead of a smoothly rounded head, a smaller black nail on
the bill tip, and has white stripe extending only halfway out wing. Male
Lesser Scaup shows purplish or sometimes greenish sheen on head and
usually duller white sides.
- Male Ring-necked Duck has black back, white shoulder, and a
pronounced bump on the back of the head. Female shows ring around her
eyes and a white spot on the bill.
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Conservation Status |
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Because of similarities to abundant Lesser Scaup, accurate
winter counts difficult to obtain. Populations may be
declining. |
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Habitat |
Sources used to
Construct this Page: |
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Found on lakes, ponds, and bays. Mostly marine in winter. |
- 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
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Food |
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Clams, snails, crustaceans, aquatic insects, seeds, and aquatic
plants. |
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Behavior |
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Dives under water to capture food. |
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