LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 57 



usual call of " Ek-ek-ek-ek," to which the males respond with a low or hoarse 

 " Hu " or " Heh-heh." These calls they also frequently make in winter, and 

 I have heard single females uttering their cry constantly when flying, as if they 

 had lost their companions and were seeking them. When they are paired 

 both sexes utter a different note, " Oi-ak," and this note is used at all times 

 when the pair meet, until the males leave the females at the end of June. 



Mr. Aretas A. Saunders writes me : 



I heard these birds call several times. The call note is usually uttered when 

 on the wing. It sounded to me like " oii-oy-oy-oy " rapidly repeated, usually 

 seven or eight times. I never heard the note from any but the males, and it 

 was usually uttered when in pursuit of one of the females. 



Winter. — The winter home of the harlequin duck is on the sea- 

 coast. On the Atlantic coast they are not common south of Maine 

 and not abundant even there. They 'are often seen about the rocky 

 bays of the eastern Provinces in winter, but more often they fre- 

 quent the outlying rocky islands and ledges. In spite of the brilliant 

 coloring of the males they are surprisingly inconspicuous among the 

 kelp-covered rocks and the wet, shiny seaweeds of varied hues. On 

 the Atlantic coast they are widely known as " lords and ladies," and 

 by the French inhabitants of Quebec they are called " canards des 

 roches " or " rock ducks." They usually flock by themselves in small 

 flocks, but are frequently associated with oldsquaws. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Breeding range. — Iceland, southern Greenland (north on the east 

 coast to Scoresby Sound and on the west coast to Upernavik), the 

 Labrador Peninsula (Nain, Lance au Loup, Fort Chimo, etc.), and 

 Newfoundland (Hawks Bay, etc.). Birds said to breed in the Ural 

 Mountains 'and the Yaroslav Government may be of this subspecies, 

 but the breeding birds of eastern Siberia are probably referable to 

 paciftcus. 



Winter range. — The Atlantic coast of North America, south regu- 

 larly to the Bay of Fundy and the coast of Maine, more rarely to 

 Long Island Sound and casually farther south. Resident in Ice- 

 land. 



Spring migration. — Atlantic coast birds retire northward in Feb- 

 ruary and some reach Greenland in March. Arrive at Fort Chimo, 

 Ungava, May 25. Seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as late as 

 May 29. 



Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival : Maine, October 19 ; Massa- 

 chusetts, November 1 ; Ehode Island, November 28. 



Castbal records. — Eare or casual on Lake Ontario (Toronto. Oc- 

 tober 20, 1894, and December 4, 1920). Accidental as far south as 

 South Carolina (Mount Pleasant, January 14-16, 1918) and Florida 



