[158] BIRDS OF OREGON 



Greater Scaup Duck: 



Nyroca marila (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Bill short and wide, bluish with black tip. Male in breeding 

 plumage: head black, glossed with green; shoulders, rump, and chest black; belly 

 white, margined along sides with light grayish; crissum black. Post-breeding 

 plumage: similar to female but darker brown. Adult female: head, neck, chest, and 

 sides brownish; region around base of bill, and belly, whitish." (Bailey) Downy 

 young: "The downy young scaup duck is a swarthy duckling, deeply and richly 

 colored with dark brown on the upper parts. The crown, hind neck, and entire back 

 are a deep rich 'raw umber,' darker than any color in Ridgway's standards, with 

 glossy reflections of bright 'argus brown'; this color invades the lores and cheeks 

 and shades off gradually on the neck and sides into the color of the under parts; the 

 sides of the head and neck are 'old gold' or 'olive ocher,' shading off to 'colonial 

 buff' on the throat and to 'cream buff' and 'cartridge buff' on the belly; an area of 

 darker color, approaching that of the upper parts, encircles the lower neck and fore 

 breast and invades the posterior under parts, restricting the light-colored belly." 

 (Bent) Si%e: "Length 18-2.0, wing about 8.50, bill 1.03." (Bailey) Nest: Usually 

 a tuft of grass near the water, lined to some extent with fine grass and down. Eggs: 

 Usually from 7 to 10, sometimes more, dark olive buff. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from southern Michigan, northern Iowa (formerly), 

 central Manitoba, central Alberta, and central British Columbia, east of Cascades 

 northward and westward from Hudson Bay to Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea and 

 Arctic Coast. In winter southward throughout United States. In Oregon: Appears 

 on coast in winter from October to February, perhaps later. We have seen specimens 

 from Lane, Douglas, Lincoln, Tillamook, and Benton Counties and from Columbia 

 River below Portland but have not been fortunate enough to find specimens from 

 east of the Cascades. 



THE GREATER SCAUP DUCK, or Big Blue-bill, has been reported in Oregon 

 by many observers, but from all the evidence available it seems it has 

 been hopelessly confused with the next species. Townsend (1839) stated 

 it was found in the territory of Oregon. Bendire (1877) reported it as a 

 common migrant at Camp Harney, and Merrill (1888) said: 



Abundant from autumn till spring. On June 15 I watched a pair of this species although 

 it has not been recognized as breeding so far south, their size was certainly too great for 

 affinis for some time in the marsh, and from their actions am confident that they were 

 breeding and had a nest or young close at hand. 



Woodcock (1902.) recorded one specimen shot south of Corvallis on Decem- 

 ber 2.7, 1899, and Walker (19x6) reported one taken at Netarts on Decem- 

 ber 2.1, 19x0. In the Jewett collection, there are two from western Lane 

 County taken November xo, 192.4, one from Siltcoos Lake shot January 

 12., 192.5, and one from the Columbia River just below Portland taken 

 October 17, 1916. Gabrielson collected one in Tillamook County, Novem- 

 ber 5, 1932., and one at Devils Lake, Lincoln County, December 3, 1932.. 

 In addition he has seen a few birds in hunters' bags about Devils Lake, 

 most commonly in November 1930. 



From the above, it will be seen that definite information concerning 

 this duck in Oregon is meager. The difficulty of separating the two 



