8o8 THE HARLEQUIN DUCK. 



General Range. — The northern hemisphere, Imt chiellv North America, 

 especially cuastwise ; breeding in northern latitudes and in tlu- muuntains of the 

 West; south in winter to northern Xew England, the Middle States, and the 

 coast of California. 



Range in Washington. — rroljahly not nncomnuin. hut little observed mi- 

 grant and resident, breeding in the Cascade Mountains (and jjrobaljly the Olym- 

 pics) and summering in considerable numbers among the San Juan Islands, less 

 common among the ( )lympiades. 



Authorities. — H. tvrquatus. llonap., Baird, Rep. I'ac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 

 J). 799. T. C&S. Rh. Kk. B. E. 



Specimens. — t L'. of W. ) I'rov. BX. 



THE scientists derixe great salistactidii from their attempts tu tell us why 

 certain things are so and so, and we nod gravel}- from time to time in pre- 

 tended coni])rehension ; btit there are matters which are better left to folk-lore. 

 We can understand in a measure how the i)artridge came to lixik like dead 

 leaves, and the snipe like dead grass, but who may say in terms of cold logic 

 hoW' the Harlequin ac(|uired his fantastic livery? No; it must have lieen in 

 this wise. The first Harle(|uin, before he was a llarle(|uin. that is, was of a 

 nearly unif(_)rm slate color, with some relief of dull cinnamon. But, clad in 

 this somber garb, folks mistook him for a coot, which were a misfortune 

 indeed for such a (laint\- creature. l)ri\'en to desperation he sought out 

 Mother Nature and begged to be retoucheil. This the good dame, being in a 

 whimsical mood, consented to do. She seized a brush from the nearest pot of 

 paint, which happened to l)e white, and ga\e her discontented suljject. between, 

 fits of laughter, siuidr\- daubs and slaslies with it. ten to a side, sending bin.: 

 forth at the last a ver)- — Harletiuin. 



Serioush', it is difticult to (jetect the raiuni d'etre of this eccentric dress; 

 yet it is bareh' ])ossil:(le that it does afford its owner ;in exact protection among 

 the turbulent, foam-flecked w'aters of its stuiimer home. Certain it is that its 

 bizarre habit has made the bird as frequent a subject for the taxidermist as its 

 rarity has allowed. 



Raritv is the all l)ut inii\'ersal testimonv in reference to the Harleqiu'n. 

 Yet while cruising about the islands cd" the Lower Sound in the summer of 

 1905 with Mr. J. M. Edson, of Bellingham, I came upon this Duck in astonish- 

 ing ntimbers. Thev are, indeed, at this season characteristic denizens of the 

 waters surrounding the smaller and more isolated islets. 



Their feeding seems largely confined to the kelp beds and is boih by 

 lipping and dix'iug. It is fair to surmise ihat the\- stibsist chiefly upon the 

 molluscs and small crustaceans which attach themselves to the floating leaves 

 of this plant. When tindislurbed the birds sit jauntil}- upon the water with 

 partly ruflled crests and with acti\e tails, noticeable for length; bul when the 

 word of caution has been passed around they lie motionless, with the feathers 

 of the head close down and the tail dejiressed. They are somewhat gi\en to 



