Greater Scaup
Aythya marila
LCLeast Concern
- Family
- Ducks, Swans, and Geese (Anatidae)
- Order
- Anseriformes
Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Continents
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Latvia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Netherlands
- North Korea
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Greater scaup
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.