Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Description: The male has a glossy green head, black breast and tail, a white belly and sides and a grey-barred back. Females are uniformly brown except for a white patch at the base of the bill. Both sexes have white wing tips which are visible in flight and greyish bills with black tips.

Range: Alaska, Canada and northern Eurasia. They overwinter in the southeastern United States, the southeast Mediterranean and China.

Habitat: Found on sheltered coastlines and in bays. Also found on freshwater lakes and rivers.

General: These ducks feed on vegetation and small aquatic animals.

References:

Bovey, Robin, Campbell, Wayne, and Gates, Brian. 1989. Birds of Victoria and Vicinity. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1990. Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, New York.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1994. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Chanticlear Press, Inc. New York, New York.

 

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