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? Edition What Bird is That?" was published by Australia's Heritage Publishing in 2011, the latest release of Cayley’s “big bird book” complete with Lindsey’s revisions. It is 832 pages, features 769 birds and includes all 460 of Cayley’s full-colour paintings, many showing groups of related birds. New to this edition was an accompanying e-book "What Bird Call is That?", which identifies and illustrates 101 birds from "What Bird is That?", as well as providing sound files of each featured bird’s distinctive call. The sound files were provided by David Stewart. "What Bird is That?" plays a central role in Australian