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Description
Breeding male bold black-and-white; female drabber and
more brown with white patch at base of bill. 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.
Medium-sized diving duck. 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.
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: 15-22 in
Wingspan: 28-31 in
Weight: M 1.8 lbs., F 1.6 lbs.
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Breeding
They typically breed near interior lakes, ponds, and sedge meadows. Deeper, more permanent wetlands are preferred. Lesser
Scaup prefer wetland habitats with emergent vegetation, such as bulrushes, since they often harbor abundant populations of aquatic insect larvae. Females nest in close proximity to open water and lay an average of 9 eggs.
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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General Comments
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. Lesser Scaup dive to feed on seeds of pondweeds, widgeon grass, wild rice, sedges, and bulrushes. They also feed on crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, and small fishes.
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Place Mouse over Pictures to Enlarge
Greater Scaup Drake
Greater Scaup Hen
Greater Scaup Hen
Greater Scaup Hen and ducklings
Greater Scaup nest
Greater Scaup nest close up
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