19^ WATER FOWL. 



and their broods of different ages, but no one save Mr. 

 Shepard and Mr. Pearson, hereafter mentioned, appears 

 really to have found the nest. At one time the Harle- 

 quin Duck was not at all uncommon in winter on the 

 Atlantic coast as far as New York, but of late years it 

 does not come much farther south than the shores of 

 Maine. In Alaska this Duck appears to breed in the 

 interior along the mountain streams that flow into the 

 great rivers, in the loneliest parts of that remote northern 

 wilderness. The species is also at times quite numerous 

 about the Aleutian Islands, frequenting the inner bays 

 near the mouths of fresh-water streams, also in the outer 

 bays and between the islands. 



Nelson says that at the beginning of June at Unalaska 

 the birds had united in very large flocks, of several hun- 

 dred, were very shy, and when alarmed moved away with 

 a confused noise of gabbling, chattering notes. He thinks 

 they undoubtedly breed among the islands, but no nest 

 was found. At the Seal Islands they remain all the year 

 except when the ice compels them to leave for a season. 

 The Indians along the Yukon stuff the skin of this Duck 

 and decorate it with beads and bright cloth as toys for 

 . .c children. The Harlequin Duck follows the West 

 coast south as far as Puget Sound. It breeds in the 

 Rocky Mountains at various altitudes, and according to 

 Mr. Belden, as given by Brewer, he has seen numerous 

 broods on the Stanislaus River, Calaveras Co., California, 

 every summer at a height of about four thousand feet. 

 The ducklings were exceedingly active in the water, tum- 

 bling over cascades and through rapids in a most aston- 

 ishing manner. 



Along our Eastern coast, from the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence to Maine, this Duck appears in greater or less 

 numbers every winter. The females outnumber the 



