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Lesser Scaup

Aythya affinisOrder: ANSERIFORMES Family: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)
Codes: Common Name: LESC Scientific Name: AYTAFF ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175134
Least Concern
 
Lesser Scaup
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Overview

Lesser Scaup: Medium diving duck with finely barred gray back and gray-washed white underparts. Head, neck, and breast are black with purple gloss. Eye is yellow. Bill is blue-gray. Wings are black with large, white patches; tail is black. Dives for food. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Lesser Scaup: Breeds from interior Alaska and northern Canada south to Colorado, Iowa, and occasionally farther east. Spends winters regularly along coasts south from British Columbia and Massachusetts to Gulf of Mexico; also inland south of Colorado and the Great Lakes. Preferred habitats include ponds and marshes; during migration and in winter is found on lakes, rivers, and ponds, and in the southern states on saltwater.

Topo Map: Duck-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"whew", "purr"

Interesting Facts

 The Lesser Scaup was first described in 1838 by Thomas Campbell Eyton, an English naturalist. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of the diving ducks in North America.

 An adult may pretend to be dead (immobile with head extended, eyes open, and wings held close to body) when grasped by a red fox.

 They have shifted traditional migration routes to take advantage of the presence of zebra mussels in Lake Erie. This poses a risk since zebra mussels are filter feeders and accumulate environmental contaminants rapidly.

 A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

Splitbar
Range Map for Lesser Scaup

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Family Diving Ducks (Anatidae)_blue
Species Aythya affinis
Length15 - 18 Inches
Wingspan28.5 Inches

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup: Medium diving duck with finely barred gray back and gray-washed white underparts. Head, neck, and breast are black with purple gloss. Eye is yellow. Bill is blue-gray. Wings are black with large, white patches; tail is black. Dives for food. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "whew", "purr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Lesser Scaup: Feeds on seeds, aquatic vegetation, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, and small fish; forages by diving.

● Breeding & nesting: Lesser Scaup: Six to fifteen olive or olive buff eggs are laid in a down-lined cup of grass hidden in vegetation, often located some distance from water. Incubation ranges from 21 to 28 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Lesser Scaup: Greater Scaup is larger and has white wing stripe that extends through the secondaries onto the primaries; male has whiter sides and a more rounded head.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Lesser Scaup Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Lesser Scaup: Breeds from interior Alaska and northern Canada south to Colorado, Iowa, and occasionally farther east. Spends winters regularly along coasts south from British Columbia and Massachusetts to Gulf of Mexico; also inland south of Colorado and the Great Lakes. Preferred habitats include ponds and marshes; during migration and in winter is found on lakes, rivers, and ponds, and in the southern states on saltwater.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationDeclining slightly
MigrationMigratory
Weight30.4 Ounces
Duck-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX