Lesser scaup in their first or second summer. The oldest known individual reached an age of over 18 years. Before the start of the population decline (see below), about 57% of the lesser scaup nests failed each breeding season because the female was killed or the eggs were eaten or destroyed. The average brood size of nests where eggs hatched successfully was 8.33 hatchlings. Although the lesser scaup has the largest population of any species of diving duck in North America, their population has been steadily declining since the mid-1980s, and reached an all-time low in the early 21sh century. During breeding
What Bird is That? to the League for £300. The book was extolled fulsomely by S.R. Thomas, of the NSW Department of Education, as follows; ""What Bird is That?" is the most comprehensive and informative bird book published in the Commonwealth – if not in the world. The coloured plates are a triumph not only of the genius and imagination of the artist – our own Neville Cayley on whom has fallen so fittingly the mantle of his famous father – but also of the block-maker’s and printer’s art. The publishers have done nothing finer of its kind. The life-like portrayals of our feathered