Lesser scaup

The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North American</a> <a href="/facts/Diving_duck/mw0dJecJ">diving duck</a> that migrates south as far as <a href="/facts/Central_America/CXKgTuxC">Central America</a> in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp—the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels; however, some credit it to the female's discordant scaup call as the name's source. It is apparently a very close relative of the <a href="/facts/Holarctic/uNgFyNx9">Holarctic</a> <a href="/facts/Greater_scaup/xD1IKD0A">greater scaup</a> or "bluebill" (A. marila), with which it forms a <a href="/facts/Superspecies/u6qEMdRQ">superspecies</a>. The scientific name is derived from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a> and <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>, with aithuia being an Ancient Greek term for an unidentified <a href="/facts/Seabird/zmMQPeEU">seabird</a>, used by <a href="/facts/Hesychius_of_Miletus/Yxa8Y1Is">Hesychius</a> and <a href="/facts/Aristotle/U2bDlBFW">Aristotle</a>, among other authors, and affinis, Latin for "related to", from the lesser scaup's resemblance to the greater scaup.

Lesser scaup open-in-new

Lesser scaup