The Lesser Scaup is a medium-sized diving duck that frequents Arizona’s lakes, reservoirs and rivers during the cooler months. Males in breeding plumage display a rounded black head with a subtle purplish gloss, bright white flanks and a slate-gray back, while females are overall brown with a slightly paler face and a much duller pattern. Both sexes show the characteristic rounded head profile and pale blue bill with a small black tip.
In Arizona, Lesser Scaup are most abundant as fall and winter migrants, arriving in October and departing by late March or early April. They concentrate on open water bodies—particularly larger reservoirs such as Lake Pleasant, Alamo and Apache—and often form large flocks mixed with other diving ducks like Ring-necked Ducks. Feeding primarily by diving for mollusks, insect larvae and other aquatic invertebrates, they also dabble for plant seeds when food is scarce. Breeding is virtually nonexistent in the state, though occasional spring overshoots may linger into late April before heading north to nesting grounds.
