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Scaup

Scaup, (Wildlife) image There are two species of scaup in North America. The Greater Scaup (Aythya Marila) inhabits the Northern Hemisphere, while the Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) only inhabits North America. Research has shown that lesser scaup make up roughly 89% of the North American scaup population.

Scaup are a small, compact diving duck. The male has a glossy purplish head, yellow eyes, black breast, whitish or pale gray flanks, white belly and a black tail. The female scaup also has yellow eyes. They have a distinct white band around the base of the bill, dark brown body plumage with a whitish belly.

Lesser and greater scaup are very difficult to tell the difference between one another. Lesser scaup have a glossy purplish head with slight crest on top, where as the greater scaup has a more greenish head with no crest. Female greater scaup have a light colored ear patch but this will be lost at certain times of the year.

Scaup are the most numerous diving duck in North America. Diving ducks feed on small animals and plant material by diving beneath the surface of the water; where marsh ducks tend to feed from the surface by dipping. Just as all other divers, the scaup has feet that are positioned wider and set further back than marsh ducks, giving it an excellent diving advantage.