Aythya marila
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The greater scaup (Aythya marila), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup and tufted duck. It spends the summer months breeding in Iceland, east across Scandinavia, northern Russia and Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada. During the winter, it migrates south to the coasts of Europe, eastern Asia, and North America.
Male greater scaup average slightly larger than the females but with much overlap; they have a light blue-grey bill and yellow eyes. Their heads are dark, with a green to purple (depending on light angle) gloss; the breast is black, the belly white, the upperparts pale grey, and the wing shows a strong white stripe. The females are mostly brown, again with white on the wing. They have dull blue bills and a white patch on the face.
Greater scaup nest near water, typically on islands in northern lakes or on floating mats of vegetation. They begin breeding at age two, but start building nests in the first year. The drakes have a complex courtship, which takes place on the return migration to the summer breeding grounds and concludes with the formation of monogamous pairs. Females lay a clutch of six to nine olive-buff-coloured eggs. The eggs hatch in 24 to 28 days. The down-covered ducklings are able to follow their mother in her search for food immediately after hatching.
Greater scaup eat aquatic molluscs, plants, and insects, which they obtain by diving underwater to depths of 0.5–6 m, exceptionally 10 m. They form large groups, called "rafts", that can number in the thousands. Their main threat is human development, although they are also preyed upon by owls, skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and humans. Greater scaup populations have been declining since the 1980s; however, they are still listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Tokyo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Nagoya | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Fukuoka | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 9 | Hiroshima | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Ecomuseum Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Natur- und Tierpark Goldau | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | Kunming Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Karlsruhe Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Texas State Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Les Oiseaux du Marais Poitevin | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Ogród zoologiczny w Lubinie | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Scaup sighting in Olympic National Park on a given day, based on 91 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 136th most-seen of the 216 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Scaup in Olympic National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–September and November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Scaup sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
17th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Greater Scaup sightings, Olympic National Park ranks 17th at under 5%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 10%), Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 10%) and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Scaup is recorded against all the birds logged in Olympic National Park (91 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
