Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup ( Aythya affinis )

The Lesser Scaup ( Aythya affinis ), also called Lesser Scaup, is a small diving duck of the family Anatidae. It is a close relative of the circumpolar represented scaup and tufted Old World. The plumage of the Lesser Scaup has with these two kinds of ducks on a very large similarity so that it is not always easy, safe to distinguish between different species.

In Europe, the Lesser Scaup is a very rare Irrgast observed time and again, especially in Great Britain and Ireland. There are also observations from France, the Netherlands and Sweden, where the observations have increased in recent times. This increase in observations may be due to captivity refugees.

Features

Violet ducks are 38 to 48 cm long, 700 to 1200 g in weight and have a wingspan of about 75 cm. The male has a dark head shines, the violet. The breast and tail are black, the elytra are bright patterned, the white belly. The beak is bluish, the eyes are yellow. Typical is the rear " pointed " head. Violets are similar Scaup ducks. In both species the males have a black head, neck, chest and body end. Violet ducks are but smaller and darker on the back. The males also have slightly different head shapes. The Lesser Scaup has an implied Schopf, so that the apex acts extended. When Scaup, however, the mind is remarkably skewed.

The female is of a grayish brown color. The beak is highlighted in white. The female of the Lesser Scaup is to be distinguished from the Scaup hardly. The clearest distinction is comparable regarding flying ducks. While the white wing band extends in the scaup up to the primaries, the ribbon on the outside of the wing is in the Lesser Scaup on the Grey-brown. The Lesser Scaup therefore acts as if they have a white mirror.

Dissemination

The Lesser Scaup breeds in Canada and Alaska as well as in the states of Oregon, Idaho, north of Montana and eastern South Dakota. The breeding pair density is greatest in Canadian prairie regions. Distribution area are Manitoba and Alberta. Its habitat is lakes, where it builds its nest in the reeds. As migratory birds in winter it migrates further south in the United States, Central America and northern South America.

The train movements in the wintering areas are very complex. Many breeding birds of the prairie regions move to the southeast and cross over it even the Great Lakes to go to the Atlantic coast. Even some of the western populations cross the North American continent, to spend the winter months. However, large parts of the populations to cross the inland to spend the winter on the Gulf of Mexico.

Violet ducks get lost on her face occasionally to Europe. So far there is for the Western Palearctic 16 occupied sightings. Violet ducks were already observed in Greenland, the United Kingdom, the Canary Islands and the Netherlands.

Behavior

Food are water plants and small animals. The incubation period is 21 to 28 days, the young fledge after 45 to 50 days.

Lesser Scaup and people

Violet ducks are a popular game in the United States and Canada. Since 1988, the hunt is legally restricted to these breeds of ducks. A fundamental problem of hunting is that the stock and population trends are very difficult to estimate. The Lesser Scaup has a great similarity to the Scaup to identify reliable figures here. The Lesser Scaup could benefit from the introduction of mussels in the Great Lakes and a warming of rivers by industrial effluent. It would these breeds of ducks provide more food on her face and she could optionally further overwinter north. The extent to which these assumptions are true, however, has yet to be scientifically studied. It is quite possible that these potential positive effects is neutralized by the disappearance of other mussel species, which are an important food for these duck.

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