The Scaup Duck — Fuligula Marila (Linnæus)
Breeding in the far north of Europe this species visits us in considerable numbers during the winter, feeding on molluscs, crustacea, and small fish, which are plentiful on our low, flat, alluvial shores. It goes about in large flocks, and although obtaining much of its food by diving, it is also fond of feeding on the soft ooze left bare by the receding tide. The note is a harsh “scaup.”
It is only during the last two or three years that it has been proved beyond doubt to nest in a particular locality in Scotland, where it is strictly preserved.
The nest is placed among stones or rough grass near some pool or mere, and the eggs, which are pale greenish grey, are usually about ten in number.
The male has the whole of the head, neck, breast, and upper parts black, the mantle being thickly vermiculated with white. Under parts white; bill greyish blue; eyes pale yellow; legs bluish. The female has those parts which are black in the male dull brown, and the vermiculations on the back are very scanty. There is a white band round the base of the bill. The young resemble the female, and immature Drakes do not acquire their full plumage for two or three years. Length 19 in; wing 8·5 in.