Albania (NB), Austria (NB), Azerbaijan (NB), Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium (NB), Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria (NB) (P), Canada (B) (NB) (P), China (mainland), Costa Rica, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (NB), Cuba, Denmark (NB) (P), Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Faroe Islands (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (NB) (P), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Greece (NB), Hungary (NB), Iceland (B) (NB), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Iraq (NB), Ireland (NB), Italy (NB), Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia (B) (NB) (P), Liechtenstein, Lithuania (NB), Luxembourg, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Mexico, Montenegro (NB), Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands (NB), North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (NB), Pakistan, Philippines, Poland (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Puerto Rico, Romania (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (P), Serbia (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (NB), Slovenia (NB), South Korea, Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (B) (NB) (P), Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (NB), Taiwan (China), Turkey (NB), Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B), Vietnam.
Vagrant to Afghanistan, Algeria, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greenland, Hong Kong (China), Israel, Jamaica, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Tunisia, Virgin Islands (U.S.).
Unknown to Guam.
Population
Estimated population is 1,200,000 - 1,400,000 (2010).
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) [XC152600]
by William Whitehead from Wood Buffalo (near Fort McMurray), Division No. 16, Alberta, Canada (call)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) [XC152598]
by Dugan Maynard from Wood Buffalo (near Fort McMurray), Division No. 16, Alberta, Canada (call)
Nest
On the ground, or in a tussock, occasionally in the open, but sometimes sheltered by grass or heather, close to Tundra pools.
Eggs (Guide)
7 - 11; matt, green or olive-green. Incubation: about 28 days; by female.
Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis).
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
marila (Linnaeus, 1761) - Northern Eurasia from Iceland to R Lena, Siberia.
mariloides (Vigors, 1839) - North-eastern Siberia, from R Lena eastwards to Bering Sea coast. Aleutian Is. Alaska eastwards through central Canada to Atlantic coast of Canada.
nearctica Stejneger, 1885 - Breeds northern North America. Winters south to the southern United States and north-western Mexico.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7