Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Greater Scaup, Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada, May 2009 - click on image for a larger view

Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada
May 2009

The Greater Scaup breeds in the high latitudes from northern Europe to Siberia and from Alaska across Canada to the Atlantic coast. It breeds on small lakes and tundra pools. In the northern winter it migrates southwards along the Pacific and Atlantic coast of North America, north-western Europe and China and Japan.

The male has a large rounded head which is black with a dark green gloss. The eye is yellow. The breast and rear are black while the flanks are white and the back is light grey with vermiculation. The bill is pale grey with a black nail.

The female is brown with a broad white band at the base of the bill.

In flight the wings show a broad white stripe in both the secondaries and the primaries. Females can be identified by the dark back, the white at the base of the bill and the dark flanks just below the wings.

There is a map showing the distribution in North America at NatureServe and there is additional information available at Avibase.

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