Bird
Greater Scaup
Aythya marila
A winter visitor to West Virginia, found in 30 of 55 counties and 2 habitats.
- Here
- Winter and on migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- 30 of 55 counties
- Habitats
- 2

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Winter and on migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- 30 of 55 counties
- Habitats
- 2
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in West Virginia 2
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Other habitats in its models (7)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in West Virginia. Those recorded in West Virginia first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (4)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
Northeast (1)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
Land cover and other classes (2)
- Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Marsh Systems Winter.
- Open Water (Brackish/Salt) Winter.
Seasons in West Virginia
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 26 of 55 counties.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 6 of 55 counties.
Food plants
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.
Native plants in these genera 41
- Flatstem PondweedPotamogeton zosteriformis
- Grassleaf PondweedPotamogeton gramineus
- Oakes' pondweedPotamogeton oakesianus
- Potamogeton foliosus subsp. foliosusPotamogeton foliosus subsp. foliosus
- Potamogeton pusillus subsp. pusillusPotamogeton pusillus subsp. pusillus
- Small pondweedPotamogeton pusillus subsp. tenuissimus
- Spiral Pondweed, Northern Snailseed PondweedPotamogeton spirillus
- Floating PondweedPotamogeton natans
- Illinois PondweedPotamogeton illinoensis
- Largeleaf PondweedPotamogeton amplifolius
- Leafy PondweedPotamogeton foliosus
- Longleaf PondweedPotamogeton nodosus
- Ribbonleaf PondweedPotamogeton epihydrus
- Small PondweedPotamogeton pusillus
- Snail-seed PondweedPotamogeton bicupulatus
- Spotted PondweedPotamogeton pulcher
- Tennessee Pond WeedPotamogeton tennesseensis
- Waterthread PondweedPotamogeton diversifolius
- American EelgrassVallisneria americana
- Canadian WaterweedElodea canadensis
- Nuttall's WaterweedElodea nuttallii
- Slender WaternymphNajas gracillima
- Southern WaternymphNajas guadalupensis
- Common DuckweedLemna minor
Plant genera in its diet records (10)
- Potamogeton 4 diet records. 18 native plants in West Virginia
- Chara 3 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
- Vallisneria 3 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
- Elodea 2 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
- Najas 2 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
- Ulva 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
- Lemna 1 diet record. 5 native plants in West Virginia
- Ruppia Leaves. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
- Scirpus 1 diet record. 11 native plants in West Virginia
- Wolffia 1 diet record. 2 native plants in West Virginia
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in West Virginia, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 112
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
Plants 12
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Intermediate Spike RushEleocharis intermedia
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
- Heart Leaf WillowSalix eriocephala
- Cuscuta gronovii var. gronoviiCuscuta gronovii var. gronovii
- European Gray WillowSalix cinerea
- Ricefield FlatsedgeCyperus iria
- White WillowSalix alba
Ponds, lakes and their shores
Birds 58
- BuffleheadBucephala albeola
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- Long-tailed DuckClangula hyemalis
- RedheadAythya americana
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
Plants 109
- Stiff Yellow FlaxLinum medium
- Northeastern BulrushScirpus ancistrochaetus
- Sago PondweedStuckenia pectinata
- Common BladderwortUtricularia macrorhiza
- Horned PondweedZannichellia palustris
- Coastal Plain WillowSalix caroliniana
- Northern St. John's-wortHypericum boreale
- Southern Marsh St. John's-wortTriadenum tubulosum
- White Water CrowfootRanunculus longirostris
- Engelmann's ArrowheadSagittaria engelmanniana
- Grassy ArrowheadSagittaria graminea
- Whiteroot RushJuncus brachycarpus
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Greater Scaup
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus








































