NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS. 



79 



[Greenish buff.J 



155. Harlequin Duck. Histrionicus histrionicus. 



Range. Northern Hemisphere in America, breeding from Newfoundland and 

 the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, northward. South in winter to California 

 and New England. 



A beautiful and most gorgeous 

 bird, not in colors, but in the oddity 

 of the markings, the colors only 

 including black, white, gray and 

 chestnut. Either sex can be recog- 

 nized by the small short bill. They 

 breed mostly in single pairs along 

 swiftly running streams, placing 

 their nest, which is woven of weeds 

 and grasses, in the ground near the 

 water. It is also claimed that they 

 sometimes nest in hollow trees. They 

 lay from five to eight eggs, yellowish 

 or greenish buff in color. Size 

 2.30 x 1.60. Data. Peel River, Alaska, 

 June 13, 1898. Seven eggs in a 

 hollow in river bank, lined with 

 down. Collector, C. E. Whittaker. 



156. Labrador Duck. Camptolaimus labradorius. 



This fine bird, whose range was from Labrador to New Jersey in the winter, 

 has probably been extinct since 1875 when the last authentic capture was made. 

 It is a strange fact that a bird of this character should have been completely 

 exterminated, even though they were often sold in the markets. Only forty-one 

 specimens are known to be preserved at present and nothing is known in regard 

 to their nesting habits or eggs. 



157. Steller Duck. Eniconetta stelleri. 

 Range. Arctic regions in America, 



chiefly on the Aleutian Islands and 

 northwest coast of Alaska. 



A very beautiful species eighteen 

 inches long ; head white, washed with 

 greenish on the forehead and nape; 

 chin, throat, neck, back, tail and 

 crissum, black; underparts chestnut ; 

 wing coverts white, the long scapulars 

 black and white. It breeds on the 

 rocky coasts and islands of Bering 

 Sea. The six to nine eggs are pale 

 olive green in color. Size 2.25 x 1.60. 

 Data. Admiralty Bay, Alaska, June 

 22, 1898. Nest on a hummock of the 

 tundra, near a small pool, lined 

 with grass and down. Collector, E. A. 

 Mcllhenny. 



158. Spectacled Elder. Arctonetta fischeri. 

 Range.-Coast of Alaska from the Aleutians to Point Barrow. 



Like the rest of the true Eiders, this species is black beneath and mostly white 

 above. The head is largely washed with sea green, leaving a large pate 

 white, narrowly bordered by black around each eye, thus resembling a pair 

 spectacles . The nests are made of grass and seaweed and lined with down ; tl 



[Pale olive green.] 



