OLD SQUAW; LONG-TAILED DUCK 



154. Harelda hyemalis. 3 21; 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 

 colored, and lacks the long tail feathers with whicli 

 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. 



Raage. Breeds from Labrador and Alaska north- 

 ward; winters south to Long Island Sound and t,he 

 upper Mississippi Valley. 



