Family:
The lesser scaup is a medium-sized diving duck similar to a greater scaup (scaup), but smaller in size and with a tall, peaked head. In breeding plumage, the male has a finely barred black and white back, black rump and tail, white underparts, and a black breast. The head and neck are black with an iridescent purple or green sheen, and there is a small tuft on the back of the head. The eyes are yellow, and the bill is blue-grey with a narrow black nail.
The female has chocolate brown plumage with paler sides, and grey flecks on the wing coverts. The bill is dark blue-grey, sometimes with a white patch around the upper mandible.
In non-breeding plumage, the male is mottled with a dark head, while the female in eclipse is paler brown with white marks. The white bill patch is less conspicuous.
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Lesser scaups eat mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as insects, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish, but will also take seeds and vegetation in certain areas. It forages mostly by diving.
Lesser scaups breed in northern and central North America in lakes, rivers, marshes, and wetlands with shallow water. It migrates for the winter to southern North America and northern South America where it can be found on lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and coastal bays.
