Lesser Scaup - Vancvouer, BC
During the Birds of a Feather Walk at Lost Lagoon at Stanley Park for Stanley Park Ecology Society, there was a very friendly Scaup along the shore. They are easy to separate from the rest of the ducks as they are usually diving completely under water for their food. Lesser Scaup are hard to tell from Greater Scaup but if you have a close look at the back of the head, the Lesser have a flat section seen here. The Greaters have a much more rounded head. Notice also the green sheen rather than the purple color on the Lesser species. Most of the time the head just appears dark and so is not the greatest way to tell the two apart.