male	male female summer European distribution male

Identification

The male Scaup seems to have a bandaged up body just like on a Pochard, but with more obvious grey markings on the mantle. Otherwise he looks much like a Tufted Duck but the gloss on his head is green instead of blue. The female Scaup is best identified by the white patch around the base of the bill which is bolder and more striking than on any female Tufted Duck. They are also greyer on the back than Tufted Ducks, giving a hint of the back pattern of the males. Note that the Scaup also have big evenly-rounded heads with no sign of a tuft and diagnostically they have just a tiny nail of black on the tip of the bill. In flight they look much like Tufted Ducks - very dark but with broad white wing bars, but the greyer back of the male Scaup should be easily seen.

Habitat

Breeds by moorland pools and lakes. Winters in estuaries, coastal bays and inland lakes.

Migration

Birds breed on mountain lakes and coasts in Scandinavia, Iceland and north Russia, wintering in coastal habitat along the coasts of Denmark, Holland, France and the UK. Other birds go to the western part of the Baltic or the Black Sea.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Scaup is classed as Local: generally fairly regular or common species that a 'county lister' or a birding beginner might be interested in going to see. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Oxford Island NNR, Armagh 10/04/2010	Venus Pool, Shrops 26/03/2010	Venus Pool, Shrops 21/03/2010	Keyhaven Marshes, Hants 16/03/2010	Keyhaven Marshes, Hants 16/03/2010
Venus Pool, Shrops 15/03/2010	Rocester, Staffs 06/03/2010	Whitlingham CP, Norfolk 03/03/2010	Eglwys Nunydd Resr, Glamorgan 28/02/2010	Eglwys Nunydd Resr, Glamorgan 28/02/2010

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