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The greater scaup (Aythya marila), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, [3] is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup and tufted duck. It spends the summer months breeding in Iceland , east across Scandinavia , northern Russia and Siberia , Alaska , and northern Canada .
Hens lay between 5 and 17 eggs per clutch and the eggs take between 23 and 24 days to hatch. There are between five and 10 young per brood. [ 15 ] The young are raised by the female and fledge in one to four weeks, are completely independent by the tenth to twelfth week, and reach sexual maturity by age one (Ammann, 1957).
The nests are hidden in dense waterside vegetation, for preference on islets which give greater security from land predators. Incubation of the [2–]6–10[–18] eggs takes 3–4 weeks, and is done entirely by the female.
The adult female (hen) also has a black bill, a light brown head and neck, grading into a darker brown chest and foreback. The sides, flanks, and back are grayish brown. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. Its sloping profile distinguishes it from other ducks. [8]
At some point thousands of years ago, ancient chicken breeders chose two tame jungle fowl (gallus gallus) and the resulting union produced the egg of the world’s first genetically distinct ...
Scaup is the common name for three species of diving duck: Greater scaup, or just "scaup", Aythya marila; Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis;
When male turkeys inseminated female chickens, no hybrids resulted; however, the unfertilised chicken eggs began to divide. According to Olsen, [20] turkey-chicken crosses produced all males. A supposed turkey × pheasant hybrid was reported by Edwards in 1761. [22] A hybrid between a turkey and Ocellated turkey was reported in 1956. [23]
These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fresh water or on estuaries, though the greater scaup becomes marine during the northern winter. They are strong fliers; their broad, blunt-tipped wings require faster wing-beats than those of many ducks and they take off with some difficulty.