Greater scaup Greater scaup 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. It spends the summer months breeding in Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, and the northernmost reaches of Europe. During the winter, it migrates south to the coasts of North America, Europe, and Japan. Drake greater scaup are larger and have more rounded heads than the females; they have a bright blue bill and yellow eyes. Their heads are dark, with a green gloss; the breast is black, the belly white and the
Greater scaup molluscs, aquatic plants, and aquatic insects. During the summer months, the greater scaup will eat small aquatic crustaceans. There is a report of four greater scaups in April near Chicago swallowing hibernating leopard frogs (with body length about ), which they dredged out of a roadside freshwater pond. In freshwater ecosystems, the greater scaup will eat seeds, leaves, stems and roots, along with sedges, pondweeds, muskgrass, and wild celery. Owing to the greater scaup's webbed feet and weight, it can dive up to and stay submerged for up to a minute, allowing it to reach food sources that are unobtainable