OLD SQUAW; LONG-TAILED DUCK 
154. Harelda hyemalis. 6 21; Q 16 in. 
This species is one of the very few ducks that change 
their plumages in summer and winter. The female is 
marked similarly to the male but is very much duller 
eolored, and lacks the long tail feathers with which 
the male is adorned. They are sea ducks and, while 
they are usually found to some extent on some of the 
larger lakes or ponds, during migrations, they are very 
abundant on the Atlantic coast. They are excellent 
swimmers and dive to great depths in search of food. 
It is said (Nelson) that in their summer home, during 
the mating season, they frequently dive under the water 
from the air, a habit that none of the other ducks, ex- 
cept rarely the Pintail, indulge in. 
Notes.—A confused, but rather musical gabbling. 
Nest.—On the ground near water; thickly lined with 
downy feathers; eggs laid in June, 
Range.—Breeds from Labrador and Alaska north- 
ward; winters south to Long Island Sound and the 
96 upper Mississippi Valley. 
