Ivan Kozlov (B. 1937) "Greater Scaup - 1991 USSR Duck Stamp Shoveler Duck - First Day Cover" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the First Day Cover for the USSR 15k Greater Scaup stamp issued July 1, 1991. The tundra potholes of Siberia are home to the Greater Scaup, a species of diving duck. After the breeding season on the arctic tundra, the Greater Scaup will lead its seven to ten offspring south to warmer climates, with "lay-overs" on such waters as the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Japan, where large flocks will rest and ride out the choppy waves, diving and feeding. Known also as "big bluebill," huge rafts of the Greater Scaup -- as many as 50,000 birds -- will converge on open saltwater bays during late autumn and winter. There, ducks will dive for mollusks and other tidbits of food. Entire flocks will often dive in unison after a strange ritual of rearing into the air, shaking their wings and then, plunging. Even these large flocks are eerily silent; only when the Greater Scaup is alarmed does it voice the sound that is part of its name: scaup, scaup, scaup. The drake's harlequin plumage is often confused with the Lesser Scaup, but the latter duck is both smaller and darker. Shades of iridescent green cover the head of the drake Greater Scaup when observed through field glasses and from nearby. The profile of the head is also an aid to identification; the Greater Scaup's is rounded and not as pointed as that of the Lesser. Yet for the novice birder, distinguishing the Greater Scaup from the Lesser is an art which is mastered only through experience and practice. Image Size: 13.75 x 12 in. Overall Size: 18.25 x 14.75 in. Unframed. (B12917)