Greater Scaup
| Aythya marila | Order: Anseriformes | Family: Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) |
Aythya marila
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl)
Greater Scaup are easily confused with Lesser Scaup. The iridescence on the male Greater Scaup’s head tends to appear green; Lesser is much more likely to appear purplish, but can also appear green. Both sexes of Greater have a larger “nail” at the end of the somewhat larger bill. In the breeding season, female Greaters often have a noticeable whitish cheek patch.
The Greater Scaup is the only circumpolar diving duck, nesting in the tundra of North America and Europe. One drake banded as an adult in New York in 1988 was shot by a Michigan hunter in 2007, making it a minimum of 20 years old.