CreatureData

Lesser scaup

Aythya affinis (Eyton, 1838)

LCLeast Concernwaterfowl

The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 748 g to 842.5 g and live up to 18.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis)
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lesser scaup

Weight
748 g – 842.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
68 cm – 77 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
18.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
18.8 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
24.4 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
9.96src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the lesser scaup?

LESSER SCAUP · WINGSPAN 77 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 77 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the lesser scaup is about 45% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the lesser scaup live?

Not recorded

What is the lesser scaup?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp—the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels; however, some credit it to the female's discordant scaup call as the name's source. It is apparently a very close relative of the Holarctic greater scaup or "bluebill" (A. marila), with which it forms a superspecies. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek and Latin, with aithuia being an Ancient Greek term for an unidentified seabird, used by Hesychius and Aristotle, among other authors, and affinis, Latin for "related to", from the lesser scaup's resemblance to the greater scaup.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser scaup” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_scaup&oldid=1356839610), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the lesser scaup endangered?

The lesser scaup is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the lesser scaup classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAnseriformes
  5. familyAnatidae
  6. genusAythya
  7. SpeciesAythya affinis (Eyton, 1838)

Synonyms Fuligula affinis, Fuligula minor, Fulix affinis, Marila affinis, Nyroca affinis

Other names and names in other languages (71)
  • Lesser scaup duckEnglish
  • Raft duckEnglish
  • بط أسكوبي صغيرArabic
  • Американска планинска потапницаBulgarian
  • Morilhon bihanBreton
  • morell petitCatalan
  • polák vlnkovanýCzech
  • Hwyaden benddu fechanWelsh
  • lille bjergandDanish
  • VeilchenenteGerman
  • KanadabergenteGerman
  • kleine BergenteGerman
  • Μικρή ΣταχτόπαπιαGreek
  • eta merganasoEsperanto
  • Malgranda rokanasoEsperanto
  • Porrón bolaSpanish
  • Pato Boludo MenorSpanish
  • Pato boludo-menorSpanish
  • Pato pechiblanco menorSpanish
  • Pato TurcoSpanish
  • Porrón MenorSpanish
  • väike-merivartEstonian
  • Murgilari txikiBasque
  • اردک سرسیاه کوچکPersian
  • pikkulapasotkaFinnish
  • dos grisFrench
  • Fuligule à tête noireFrench
  • Petit FuliguleFrench
  • Mionlacha iascánIrish
  • Thunnag varrey vegScottish Gaelic
  • Pato bólaGalician
  • Mala crnikaSerbian (Latin)
  • צולל בינוניHebrew
  • sivoleđa patkaCroatian
  • búbos réceHungarian
  • QaqłutuuqInupiaq
  • KúföndIcelandic
  • Moretta AmericanaItalian
  • Moretta grigia minoreItalian
  • コスズガモJapanese
  • 쇠검은머리흰죽지Korean
  • mažoji žiloji antisLithuanian
  • mazā ķerraLatvian
  • purpurhodeandNorwegian Bokmål
  • kleine topperDutch
  • Kleine toppereendDutch
  • purpurhovudandNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Gichi-dagwaagishib (Gichi-takwaakiship)Ojibwa
  • Patu Tòper ChikíPapiamento
  • Pato Tòper ChikitoPapiamento
  • ogorzałka małaPolish
  • zarro-pequenoPortuguese
  • negrelho-americanoPortuguese
  • Zarro-americanoPortuguese
  • Малая морская чернетьRussian
  • Американская морская чернетьRussian
  • чернеть малая морскаяRussian
  • PurpuroaifiehtaNorthern Sami
  • ruostaoaifiehtaNorthern Sami
  • chochlačka vlnkovanáSlovak
  • ameriška rjavkaSlovenian
  • Мала морска црнкаSerbian
  • Mala morska crnkaSerbian
  • mindre bergandSwedish
  • Morbaş PatkaTurkish
  • küçük dalgıç ördekTurkish
  • чернь американськаUkrainian
  • Vịt bãi nhỏVietnamese
  • 小潛鴨Chinese
  • 小斑背潛鴨Chinese
  • 小潜鸭Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser scaup

Other species in the same genus Aythya.

CompareLesser scaup vs Tufted duckLesser scaup vs Common pochardLesser scaup vs Ferruginous duckLesser scaup vs Greater scaup

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser scaup?

An adult lesser scaup weighs 748 g – 842.5 g and has a wingspan of 68 cm – 77 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lesser scaup endangered?

The lesser scaup is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the lesser scaup live?

The lesser scaup has a recorded lifespan of 18.3 years.

What kind of animal is the lesser scaup?

The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-scaup

MLA

“Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-scaup.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_scaup_2026,
  title = {Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-scaup},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}