DUCKS 



143 



wintry sea. It breeds ])rincipallv in the Far 

 North along the coasts of the Arctic Ocean. Yet. 

 strange as it may seem, some individuals prefer 

 the glacial streams in the mountains, and follow 

 the higher ranges as far south as California, 

 where they rear their young amid snow-clad 

 peaks and dis]>ort themselves in the fo.iming 

 mountain torrents until the rigors of apjiroach- 

 ing winter drive tlu-ni to the sea. 



Nests have been found on the ground, in holes 

 in rocks and banks, and in hollow trees. Tlic 

 downy young take to the water as soon as thc\' 

 become strong and then they tumble about among 

 the rocks and rushing waters ]ierfectly at home 

 as are their parents on the sea. In the breeding 

 season the Marlequin is quite a solitar\- bird but 

 there appear to he many unmated or infertile 

 ones or ])Ossilily those that ha\'e finished breeding, 



which may be fiiund on the sea in Mav and the 

 summer months. Such little flocks, often led 

 by a full-plumaged male, enjoy themselves on 

 the waters of Puget .Sound among the outer 

 islands, diving, playing about on the surface and 

 dressing their plumage, apparently without a 

 care in the world. ( )n the -\tlantic coast thev 

 arc scarcer now in M.aine :md rarer still to the 

 southward but in some severe winters flocks are 

 seen south of Nantucket and Marthas \'ine- 

 yard off the coast of Massachusetts. They are 

 fond of swift waters, mad currents, tide rips 

 and flowing seas ; are tremendously tough and 

 hardy, and feed largely on mussels, which they 

 get by diving, often to considerable depths. 

 When nesting along mountain streams thev eat 

 many insects. 



Edw,\kl) Howe For hush. 



LABRADOR DUCK 



Camptorhynchus labradorius {Giiicliii) 



A. O. V. .Xuniber 156 



Other Names. — Pied Duck ; Skunk Duck. 



General Description. — Length, ^9 inches. Males 

 were black with white heads and markings ; females 

 were .grayish-brown above, and grayish-white below. 



Color. — AncLT M.vle : Head and upper neck, white 

 with a longitudinal black stripe on crown and nape; 

 lower neck, ringed with black continuous with that of 

 upper parts; below this a white half-collar continuous 

 with that of shoulders; rest of under parts, black; 

 wing-coverts and secondaries, white, some of the latter 

 margined witli black; some long shoulder-feathers, 

 pearly-gray ; primaries, their coverts, and tail-feathers, 



brownish-black; bill, black with orange base and edges; 

 feet, grayish-blue with dusky webs ; iris, chestnut. 

 .\riULT Fe.m.\le: .'\bove, grayish-brown; several second- 

 aries white, forming a speculum, but no white on wing- 

 coverts or shoulders ; below, grayish-white barred with 

 dull brown ; a spot on side of head and another in 

 Iront of eye. white; bill, feet, and iris, as in male. 



Nest and Eggs. — Unknown. 



Distribution. — Formerly along the northern .\tlantic 

 Coasts ; supposed to have bred in Labrador and to have 

 wintered from Nova Scotia south to New Jersey ; now 

 e.xtinct. 



The most remarkable fact about the Labrador 

 Duck, which seems to have been common on the 

 .Atlantic coast one hundred years ago, is that it is 

 now extinct and no one knows why. If it is a 

 fact that it bred only on rocky islands about the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence and the coast of Labrador, 

 the feather hunting of the eighteenth century 

 and the egging and shooting of the nineteentli 

 [)robably resulted in its extinction, but no one, 

 now living, knows to a certainty that it bred in 

 Labrador. John W. .\udubon was shown nests 

 at Blanc Sablon that were said to be those of 

 this species. Newton writes that it was common 

 in summer on the coast of Labrador until about 

 1842. Major King writes ( iS86) that it was 

 common on the northern shore of the Ciulf of St. 

 \'..i.. 1 — II 



Lawrence and bred there, but gives no dates. 

 I have seen no other evidence of its breeding in 

 Labrador. There are no definite records of its 

 nesting, and not one of its eggs is in existence. 

 It may have bred much farther north but so far 

 the records show that no one has ever seen it to 

 the northward. We must be satisfied, then, 

 with the probable explanation that, like the 

 Great .A.uk, the s])ecies bred more or less locally 

 and was exterminated in much the same way. 

 Probably the exact facts never will be known. 



The history of the bird is brief. It was first 

 made known to science by Gmelin in 1788, nearly 

 thirty years after the New England feather 

 hunters had ceased to raid the islands where it 

 was believed to breed, the birds havinsj become 



