Lesser scaup - What's a scaup?

Male lesser scaup and female (inset).  Notice the bluish beak and golden eye.

Scaups are a kind of duck.  Sometimes they are called bluebills, although I have never heard them called that.  They are a medium-sized diving duck, like bufflehead ducks, not dabblers, like mallards.  They eat mostly invertebrates, including mollusks, and will take some vegetation.  They are also highly gregarious and will form large rafts on lakes or oceans, depending upon the species.

There are two kinds of scaups found in North America (a third species is found in New Zealand).  Greater scaups prefer saltwater and are typically found along marine ecosystems where they can dive for food, although they may be found inland in places.  Lesser scaups prefer fresh water and can be found in western Canada during the breeding season and in the southern US in winter.

Distinguishing between the two species is very difficult, as the feathering is very similar.  Greater scaups are a bit larger, have wider, bluer bills. In flight, they have a large white wing stripe, much longer than their smaller cousins.  Lesser scaups have a more rounded head without a subtle peak above the eye.  The above photos were taken in a small pond in Alberta; that fact alone would suggest the birds are likely lesser scaups.  Other identifiers would include a more rounded head and a shorter white wing stripe that stops at the secondary feathers.

I have mixed scaups up with ring-necked ducks in the past, but I think I got it now.  The trick will be to keep the lesser and greater scaups apart in my mind.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com