---
title: "Kleine topper"
description: "Aythya affinis — Vogels. The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/lesser-scaup
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Kleine topper

> Aythya affinis — Vogels. The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter.

- Scientific name: *Aythya affinis*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 53147
- Wikidata: [Q833243](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q833243)
- iNaturalist taxon: [7054](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7054)

## Names

- en: Lesser Scaup
- de: Veilchenente
- es: Pato Boludo Menor
- fr: Fuligule à tête noire
- nl: Kleine topper
- pt: Zarro-americano
- pl: Ogorzałka mała

## Countries with the most observations

US (33458), CA (10361), MX (2591), GB (81), HN (76), CR (74), NI (74), FR (60), ES (59), PT (54), GT (30), PA (25)

## Summary

The lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp—the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels; however, some credit it to the female's discordant scaup call as the name's source. It is apparently a very close relative of the Holarctic greater scaup or "bluebill" (A. marila), with which it forms a superspecies. The scientific name is derived from Ancient…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_scaup

## Photo

![Kleine topper](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/lesser-scaup/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jonathan Brandt · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74135669

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/lesser-scaup?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).