188 



GAME BIEDS OF CALIFORNIA 



secluded streams of tlie Sierra Nevada in central California: on Stanislaus 

 and Tuolumne rivers (Belding, 1891, p. 97); Griswold Creek, tributary to 

 Stanislaus Elver, Tuolumne County (Belding, MS) ; South Fork of Tuolumne 

 Eiver, near Crockers, 20 miles northwest of Yosemite Valley (Belding, 1891, 

 p. 97). Eeported to have bred in Yosemite A'alley (C. C. Bull, MS). 



No other duck has such an odd dress and few have such an extra- 

 ordinary mode of life as the Harlequin Duck. Its rarity emphasizes 

 its uniqueness to such an extent that it is a bird much sought after 

 by the collector of game trophies. 



The breeding range of tlie Harlequin Duck is usually given in 

 general terms as northern North America and eastern Asia; yet it is 

 notably discontinuous. Records of breeding are known from such 

 widely separated points as the Kowak and Yukon rivers, Alaska, 



Greenland and Iceland, south- 

 Avestern British Columbia, cen- 

 tral Mackenzie, northern Un- 

 gava, and Newfoundland, and 

 the mountains of central Califor- 

 nia and southwestern Colorado. 

 Birds believed to be non-breeders 

 have been reported during the 

 summer season from the Pribilof 

 and Aleutian islands, the Sitkan 

 district of Alaska, and the coasts 

 of Washington and California. 

 This duck winters along the 

 Atlantic coast chiefly from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Maine, and in 

 the interior in Colorado and Missouri, and on Lake Michigan. On the 

 Pacific coast it winters from the Aleutian Islands to ]\Ionterey Bay, 

 California. Along the Asiatic coast it is to be found as far south as 

 Japan, but it is of only accidental occurrence in Europe. 



The Harlequin is apparently a resident species in California. Dur- 

 ing the winter season it occurs only along the seacoast, about rocky 

 headlands as far south as Monterey Bay, and a few birds, probably 

 non-breeders, are seen in these same haunts in summer. ]\Iany of our 

 winter contingent of Harlequins probably migrate nortli of the 

 Canadian boundary to breed, but a certain number repair for the 

 summer to the swift-flowing mountain streams in the Sierra Nevada 

 in the vicinity of which they nest. 



So distinctive is the male Harlequin in its coloration that after 

 once being identified it is one of the easiest of our ducks to recognize, 

 even at a distance. The general dark coloration, wholly blackish 

 slate above and slaty brown beneath, with irregular and conspicuous 

 lines and patches of white on the head, wings, and side of body, imme- 



'""■ixTOwmw^JiHil 



Fig. 25. Head of male Harlequin 

 Duck. One-half natural size. 



