OLD- SQUAW 183 



Distribution in California — Rare midwinter visitant on bays along the 

 coast as far south as San Diego. The known record stations are: Humboldt Bay, 

 Humboldt County (T. S. Palmer, 1889, p. 88); Suisun Marshes, Solano County 

 (J. W. Mailliard, 1916, p. 85); Point Reyes, Marin County (W. E. Bryant, 

 1893b, p. 363); Marin County (J. Mailliard, 1902b, p. 46); San Francisco (New- 

 berry, 1857, p. 104; Loomis, 1901, p. 105); San Francisco Bay near Redwood 

 City, San Mateo County (Littlejohn, 1912, p. 41); Monterey Bay, Monterey 

 County (Beck,. 1907, p. 58); Santa Barbara (Henshaw, 1876, p. 274); Los 

 Angeles County (Willett, 1912rt, p. 26); Newport, Orange Count}' (Daggett, 

 1901, p. 15); San Diego Bay (Belding, MS; Anthony, 1896, p. 172). 



The Old-squaw has an exceptionally wide general distribution. It 

 is found throughout tlie Arctic regions of the Old World as well as 

 the new. In North America it breeds most commonly along the 

 Arctic coast from Hudson Bay to extreme western Alaska and the 



Fig. 24. Head of female Old-squaw. One-half natural size. 



Note white area behind eve and another on side of neck (compare with 

 figs. 23 and 26). 



nearby islands. Along the coast of Alaska from the Aleutian Islands 

 to Point Barrow this is one of the commonest ducks in summer. The 

 Old-squaw is a hardy species, wintering from the Aleutian Islands 

 southeast along the coast of southern Alaska to British Columbia and 

 Washington. It is less frequent farther south on the Pacific coast, 

 and the southernmost record station is San Diego Bay. Of the dozen 

 or so records from California all except one (probably of a disabled 

 bird) are of late fall and midwinter dates and all are from along or 

 near the sea-coast. Newberry (1857, p. 104) offers the suggestion that 

 the Old-squaws appearing on our coast are driven this far south by 

 bad weather, for he says that they are only found on San Francisco 

 Bay during the "severest weather." Certain it is that they are not 

 regularly observed within the state, some years furnishing no record 

 whatever. It is possible that they occur more regularly on the open 

 sea and reach the inner bays only during severe storms. 



