Lesser Scaup diving ducks swimming acrcross a pond on Avery Island.

While the common name for this North American diving duck is Lesser Scaup, here in Acadiana, with our French heritage, it is often called "Dogris" (pronounced doe gree), which is French for "grey back," The photo shows why. It migrates south as far as Central America in winter, and is also known in other areas 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, according to Wikipedia.

Lesser Scaup hens and drakes in flight.