# Greater scaup (*Aythya marila*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-scaup  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The greater scaup (Aythya marila) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized, migratory bird with a representative adult body mass of 1.005 kg and a wingspan of 82 cm. Its diet category is aquatic predator and its trophic level is omnivore; it lives an aquatic lifestyle in wetland habitats. It lays one clutch per year with a representative clutch size of 9.4 eggs, and the IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 958 g – 1.01 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 82 cm |
| Lifespan | 19.4 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 22.1 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 26.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 9.4 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 15 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Aythya
- species: *Aythya marila* (Linnaeus, 1761)

Synonyms: *Anas albifrons*, *Anas frenata*, *Fuligula gesneri*, *Fuligula marila*, *Fulix marila*, *Marila marila*, *Nyroca marila*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the greater scaup?

The greater scaup is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, in the family Anatidae and order Anseriformes.

### How heavy is the greater scaup?

The greater scaup has a representative adult body mass of 1.005 kg, placing it in the medium size class.

### What does the greater scaup eat?

The greater scaup is classed as an aquatic predator by diet category, with a trophic level of omnivore.

### Is the greater scaup endangered?

No. The greater scaup is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the greater scaup live?

The greater scaup has a representative lifespan of 19.38 years, with values up to 22.1 years reported.

### How many eggs does the greater scaup lay?

The greater scaup has a representative clutch size of 9.4 eggs and lays one clutch per year; incubation lasts 26.5 days.

### When does the greater scaup reach sexual maturity?

The greater scaup reaches sexual maturity at 1.1 years, with reported values from 1.0 to 1.2 years.

### Who named the greater scaup?

The greater scaup, Aythya marila, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1761).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Greater scaup (Aythya marila). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-scaup