60 Birds of Colorado 



In siimraer plumage, there is more black about the head and the 

 feathers of the back are margined with rufous and are without white. 



Distribution. — A circumpolar species, breeding far north and winter- 

 ing south in both hemispheres. In America breeding from Labrador 

 to Alaska northwards, south in winter to North Carolina, the Great 

 Lakes and northern California and casually elsewhere. 



The Old Squaw is an occasional winter visitor to north-east Colorado, 

 and has been reported on some half-dozen occasions. A pair shot 

 on McKay Lake north of Denver, November 13th, 1892, by J. B. 

 Sibley, were noticed by Deane. Breninger found one dead near Fort 

 Collins (Cooke). One was shot at Loveland, October 16th, 1898, 

 another at Calkins Lake, Longmont, October 23rd, 1898, by Bryan 

 Haywood, and a third, a male, secured also at Longmont by Judge 

 Park, about November 20th, 1903. These are reported by H. G. 

 Smith, and are now in the State Collection at Denver. Others from 

 the same neighbourhood are noticed by Felger. 



Habits. — The Old Squaw is one of the swiftest flying 

 as well as most noisy of our Ducks ; it is very common 

 in winter on the New England coasts, where it feeds 

 chiefly on various mollusca and small fishes ; its meat 

 is not good. 



Genus HISTRIONICUS. 



Bill very small and short, rounded at the tip, which bears a large 

 nail ; nostrils in the basal half of the bill ; feather Une across the forehead 

 pointed in the middle Une in front ; wings and tail short ; plumage 

 variegated with white patches. 



One species only. 



Harlequin Duck. Histrionicus histrionicus. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 155 — Colorado Records — Drew 81, p. 142 ; 

 85, p. 18; Morrison 88, p. 140; 89, p. 1G5 ; Cooke 97, pp. 57, 195; 

 06 p. 54. 



Description. — Male — Head and neck bluish-black with three white 

 patches, one crescent-shaped, in front of the eye, becoming chestnut 

 over the eye, a small rounded one, and a crescentic one on the neck, 

 behind the eye ; middle of the crown black, collar white, a white 

 shoulder -patch edged with black ; chest and shoulders leaden-blue ; 

 belly sooty, sides bright rufous ; rump black with a white spot on either 

 side ; wing with a steely-blue speculum and four white patches ; iris 

 reddish -brown, bill olivaceous, feet greyish-blue. Length 17-0 ; 

 wing 8-0; tail 4-0; culmon 1-10; tarsus 1-30. 



