58 BULLETIN 130, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



(Pensacola, M'arch 20, 1886) . Rare or casual in Scandinavia, Russia, 

 Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Great Britain. 



Egg dates. — Iceland : Twenty-three records. May 20 to July 9 ; 

 twelve records, June 6 to 30. Labrador: Two records, June 3 and 

 10. Greenland : One record, June 24. 



HISTRIONICUS HISTRIONICUS PACIFICUS Brooks 



' PACIFIC HARLEQUIN DUCK 



i HABITS 



I had always supposed that the harlequin duck was a compara- 

 tively rare and somewhat solitary species until I visited the Aleutian 

 Islands in the summer of 1911; here we found this subspecies to be 

 one of the commonest and most widely distributed of the ducks ; we 

 saw them in large or small flocks about all of the islands wherever 

 they could find the rocky shores that they love to frequent. I saw 

 more harlequin ducks here in one day than I have ever seen elsewhere 

 in m}'^ whole life. Most of the birds were in large flocks, some of 

 them in immense flocks, but they were also frequently seen in pairs, 

 feeding about the kelp-covered rocks at low tide, among which they 

 were surprisingly inconspicuous and were easily approached. Even 

 the large flocks were not wild or shy, and we had no difficulty in 

 shooting all we wanted. The large flocks were made up almost 

 wholly of females and immature males, but they were usually led by 

 two or three adult males. The presence of mated pairs and some 

 small flocks of adult males led us to suppose that they were breeding 

 there, perhaps back in the interior in the roclry canyons of the moun- 

 tain streams, but we found no signs of nests around the shores. 

 Similar gatherings of harlequin ducks are found all summer about 

 the Pribilof Islands and all along the southern coasts of Alaska and 

 British Columbia, as far south as Puget Sound. Nearly all, if not 

 all, of these birds are probably immature birds which are not yet 

 ready to breed, or unmated or barren birds, mainly the former. 

 Some may be birds which have bred early, have lost their broods or 

 their mates, and have returned to join their fellows in these summer- 

 flocking resorts, which are practically the same as the winter resorts. 

 The migrations of this species do not amount to much more than a 

 brief withdrawal into the interior during the nesting season. 



Courtshij).—T\\Q. best account that I have seen of the courtship of 

 this species is by B. J. Bretherton (189G), as follows: 



The writer has often watched the males in spring, calling, and the actions of 

 these birds may justly be said to resemble the crowing of a rooster. In giving 

 forth their call the head is thrown far back with the bill pointed directly up- 

 ward and widely open ; then with a jerk the head is thrown forward and down- 

 ward as the cry is uttered, and at the same time the wings are slightly ex- 

 panded and drooped. Afterwards they will rise in the water and flap their 

 wings. 



