ODNR Division of Wildlife - A to Z Species Guide - Lesser Scaup

 Lessser Scaup

lesser scaup

Diving ducks frequent large, deep lakes and rivers, as well as coastal bays and inlets. When launching into flight, most of this group patter along the water before becoming airborne. They feed by diving, often to considerable depths. Since their wings are smaller in proportion to the size and weight of their bodies, they have a more rapid wingbeat than puddle ducks.
 

Lesser Scaup
Aythya affinis

At-a-Glance

• Type: Diving Duck

• Incubation: 21-28 days

• Clutch Size: 6-15 eggs

• Young Fledge: 45-50 days after hatching

• Typical foods: aquatic plants, mollusks, fish, and shellfish


Description
The head, neck, and breast of the greater scaup is dark and the bill is blue. The body is light colored at the middle and dark at the ends. The female has a white splotch at the base of the bill. Except for the wing marks, the greater and lesser scaups appear nearly identical in the field. The light band near the trailing edges of the wing runs almost to the tip in the greater scaup, but only about halfway in the lesser.

Habitat and Habits
This abundant diving duck is often found in association with redheads and canvasbacks. They are much more common than the greater scaup, except along Lake Erie's Central Basin during hard winters. They migrate late, sometimes just before freeze-over. Flock movements are rapid, often erratic, and usually in compact groups. The drakes of the lesser scaup purr and the hens are silent.

Reproduction and Care of the Young
Nests are cups of grass lined with down; usually hidden in dense vegetation near a pond or marsh.