88 iilKDS OF ONTARIO. 



species having beeu seen occasionally in Ontario, but of such occur- 

 ences the records are very few. 



William Loane, of Toronto, repoils having killed a i)aii- near that 

 city in the spring of 1865, and in the fall of 1881 he killed another, 

 a female, which is now in the rooms of the Torcjiito ih\n Club. 



One of the residents on the beach, near Hamilton, tokl me some 

 years ago that he had seen a pair there in si)ring. The male in full 

 plumage was correctly described by niy informp,nt, and spoken of 

 us the most " dapper little drake " he had ever seen. The name 

 Harlequin is suggested by the peculiar markings on the head of the 

 male, which are su])pose(l to ies('nil)le those often assumed by the 

 clown in a circus. 



In the eighth \(tluiue of the bulletin of the Nuttal Club, Di'. 

 Merriam gives the following summary of tlii' Inrd's breeding range : 

 " In Siberia it is known to breed alxnit Lake Baikal and in the 

 IJureza Mountains (Raflde), in Mantchuria, and at \arious points in 

 the great Stanowi Range (von Niddenflorf), al)out the ujjper Amoor 

 (von Schreuck) and in Kanitschatka. On the American continent 

 it has In-en found breeding along the tributai-ies of the Yukon in 

 Alaska (Dall), in the interior of the fur countries and about Hudson's 

 Ba}' (Richardson), on the fresh-water ponds in Labrador (Audubon), 

 and in the Rocky Mountains within the limits of the United .States 

 (Coues). It also nests in Greenland, Iceland and Newfoundland." 



In all these places, and wherever else it appears, it is regarded as 

 verv rare. 



Gknts SOMATERIA Lkacii. 



SiBOEMs SOMATEKIA. 



SOMATKRIA DRLSSERT Sii.MiPK. 



5(). American Eider. (KiO) 



I'.ill. with long club-sliaped frf)nt;il piouesse.s exten<Ung in a line with the 

 cuhnen upon the sides of the foreiiead, divided In' a ))road feathei-ed interspace. 

 Male: — In l)reeding attii-e, white, creamy-tinted f)n breast and washed with 

 green on the head; luider parts from the Ineast. lowei- liack. rump, tail, quills, 

 and large forked patch on tiie crown, l>lack. FciuaU- : Witli the bill less 

 developed, general plumage an extremely variable shade of reddish-brown or 

 ochrey-brown, speckled, mottled and barred with darker ; male in certain 

 stages resembling female. Length, about 2 feet; wing, 11-12 inches. 



H.VB.— Atlantic coast of North .\merica, from Maine to northern Labrador, 

 south in winter to the Delaware. 



