Scaups
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Greater Scaup (scroll down) ... Lesser Scaup ... New Zealand Scaup
The Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), or just Scaup in Europe, is a small diving duck.
It breeds on the ground by lakes and bogs on the tundra and at the northern limits of the boreal forest across Arctic and subarctic regions of northern North America, Europe and Asia. Greater Scaup migrate southwards to winter in flocks to coastal waters.
This bird's name may come from its display call scaup scaup. It is usually silent when not breeding.
The Greater Scaup is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Description:
The adult Greater Scaup is 42-51 cm long with a 71-80 cm wingspan, larger than the Lesser Scaup. 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.
Nearctic* Greater Scaup are separable from Palaearctic* (photo to right birds by stronger vermiculation on the mantle and scapulars, and are considered a separate subspecies, A. m. nearctica.
Diet:
The Greater Scaup mainly eat mollusks and aquatic plants, obtained by diving and swimmming underwater.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Related Web Resources: Greater Scaup (USGS) ... Greater Scaup (Virtual Bird Field Guide) ... Greater Scaup (Birds of Nova Scotia)
New Zealand Scaup
The New Zealand Scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae) is a diving duck endemic to New Zealand.
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