Features& Description
The Tufted Duck, Latin name Aythya fuligula, is a small diving duck with a 73 cm wingspan.
The stocky male has black-and-white plumage, a rather large head with violet highlights in daylight and a black crest hanging from the back of the neck.
The beak is small and silvery, and the flanks are grayish-white.
The female has the same plumage pattern, but in brownish-brown variations. On the other hand, she has only a short crest on her head.
Habitat(Biotope)
The Tufted Duck is an adept of ponds and lake basins.
It can sometimes be seen in towns in winter.
Behavior& habits
The Scaup dives for food to a depth of 7 m for around twenty seconds. It searches for small mollusks, insect larvae and sometimes grazes on a few weeds at the edge of a pond.
It is often found in groups of a few individuals.
Reproductionand immature
Tufted ducks change partners every year.
The nest, built on the ground from grasses and twigs at the water’s edge, can hold up to 10 eggs.
The ducklings leave the nest at birth (nidifuge) and fledge after 40 days.
Cryor Voice
The Scaup emits a series of hoarse calls, a sort of grunting “krrkrr krrkrr” and almost muffled gurgling whistles in a decending tone and accelerating “vip-vi-vivuvup'”.
Scaup
Ferruginous Duck Sportet
