Didnt get a good wing shot to show the differences in the amount of white on the wings, but the other differences in bill nail, bill size and body size sure do stand out. Lesser Scaup Hen World Champion carver and artist, Dennis Schroeder brings you these fantastic Competition Series Patterns. LESSER SCAUP HEN. Christopher Perez. Habitat: In general, the lesser scaup is more likely to be found in interior or freshwater habitats while the greater scaup is more a coastal bird. EQUIPMENT: 40D | Rebel XT | EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS | EF-S 10-22mm | EF 28 … Other times we need to rely on the preponderance of the evidence. Competition Series Pattern only. Even with quality optics and a great understanding of scaup identification we are sometimes left with no choice but to label a bird as scaup species and there is nothing wrong with that! Senior Member. Note flat back, Another aspect of head shape to consider is the large jowls or “cheeky” appearance of, While we are discussing structure and build of the head, take a look at how broad the bill, To find a GRSC in a large group of distant LESC it can be useful to quickly scan. This is one competitive courtship flight! I was thinking greater scaup because the black on the bill extends beyond the nail but I can only be positive if the wings were open. Great information. Size is one, as lesser scaup are about 20 percent smaller than greater scaup. The back is whitish with fine black vermiculations, and the tail and upper- and under-tail coverts are black. Lesser Scaup Duck Pictures . Greater or Lesser Scaup? The only circumpolar diving duck, the Greater Scaup breeds across the tundra regions in North America and Europe. For sleeping fowl, body color becomes the primary clue. The peak of the head on the Lesser falls on the back of the head. Greater Scaup tend to choose saltwater bodies, while Lesser Scaup are found in freshwater zones further inland. Lesser Scaup Vs Greater Scaup male Lesser Scaups (& 1 female Ring-necked … Greater Scaup (hen) Wood duck baby heading out: Wood Duck (Drake) Redhead hen on golden waters: Blackduck drake preening: Canvasback (hen) Ginger2000 Call me Lee. Sign into community or Create community account Second, preening and scratching scaup sometimes roll over on their sides which at a, Third, a number of sources mention the length of the white wing stripe as a field mark, Baseline and Salome-The Famous Thrasher Spot, Learning to Identify Lesser and Greater Scaup, Birding Belize: A Guest Post by Tyler Ficker, Molt and Identification: Long-Distance Migrants. Photos and text by David Roemer. Evening, sunset. Lesser scaup females show the characteristic darker iris (bright yellow in greater scaup males and females) at closer distances. Yes, it is a hen Lesser Scaup. Also note, the nail (black tip) of the bill is quite small on LESC while the black spreads and is much, wider at the tip on a Greater Scaup. Also hard to tell from pics but greater scaups have a more round head when lessers have a flatter top of head … 13 posts, 1 page 1 . Description: Male white sides, gray back, black breast and tail, purple sheen on head as opposed to green on Greater Scaup. There are, however, a number of differences. Description The Description states that the Greater Scaup is larger than the Lesser Scaup, and that sentence has two references. Image J shows a female Greater Scaup second from right. They can appear very similar to Greater Scaup when assuming this attitude, particularly when showing a green gloss to the head. Image H is of 2 male Lessers on the left and 4 Greater Scaup. Her proportionately larger and deeper bill can be seen. Greater Prairie-Chicken GRPC Tympanuchus cupido TYMCUP Lesser Prairie-Chicken LEPC Tympanuchus pallidicinctus TYMPAL Lesser scaup drakes in nuptial plumage are often said to be recognizable by the purple instead of green sheen of the head and a darker back. Images K and L are of a male Lesser Scaup present at Griffin Park on 9 December 2005. Image G is of a male Greater Scaup on the right with male Lessers, all with a relaxed attitude showing typical head shape and gloss. The lesser scaup has a straighter neck and more oval head with the peak further back, and a resting lesser scaup will show a notch or corner toward the back of the head. Image D is a close-up showing head detail. Pair bonds usually occur on the winter grounds and last until the hens … Female brown with white patch at base of bill. 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