282 BAY, SEA OR DIVING DUCKS 



courtship voice of the male is said to be a succession of deep notes like the baying 

 of hounds in the distance; the female's is a low quack. 



LIFE STORY 



The Old-squaw, that happy-go-lucky little bird, is aptly described by 

 its scientific name, Clangula hyemalis, which means "noisy winter duck." 

 It is known across the northern portion of both hemispheres and possesses 

 a personality all its own. The male is widely and commonly known as 

 the "long-tailed" duck. Friendly, chatty, gay, and active, its merriment 

 is at its height in the springtime, that season of joy, love and life, and 

 wanes but little throughout the year. Though its arrival on the coasts 

 in the autumn is the harbinger of winter, yet its musical, resonant calls 

 ringing out in the distance, and its antics and carefree play enliven and 

 cheer all who are lucky enough to be in its vicinity. As Rich (1907) 

 puts it: "Winter is close at hand. There is a sting in the wind, a nip 

 in the air, and the fingers are numb and blue as they hold the gun bar- 

 rels. But out on the water, careless of wind or wave, rides a flock of 

 'squaws' making always a merry chatter. Ever and anon some of their 

 number rise against the breeze to dart off at lightning speed, apparently 

 in the mere enjoyment of flight, for, circling a half a mile about, they 

 plump down again among their comrades, all the time noisily calling to 

 each other." 



The Old-squaw is justly notorious for its voice; it is a noisy, garru- 

 lous species at all seasons, and on account of this characteristic has re- 

 ceived many colloquial names which suggest its varied calls. It has been 

 dubbed the "song bird" among ducks, and some of its notes are so har- 

 monious and rhythmical that it received many years ago the well-merited 

 title of "organ duck" from the fur traders of the Upper Yukon. An 

 enumeration of some of its various calls, which are easy to recognize but 

 difficult to describe, will be found under the heading "Field Marks" 

 above. W. E. Ekblaw in notes quoted by Bent (1925) says: "The vibrant 

 resonance of the call is undoubtedly due to the peculiar development of 

 the voice box. At the base of the trachea [windpipe], just at the junc- 

 tion of the bronchial tubes, is a coiled enlargement resembling a mello- 

 phone, with a tightly stretched membrane along one side, probably the 

 mechanism by which the volume and quality of the call are produced." 



The females are very irregular in the times at which they are ready 

 for pairing. Thus only one or perhaps two females in a large flock may 

 be well advanced at one time in their summer plumage and breeding in- 

 stincts; these are the ones specially 

 sought by the males. Millais (1913) 

 says he has "noticed a bunch of 8 

 or 10 females swimming apart and 

 not a male going near them, whilst 

 10 or 15 males will crowd around 

 some particular female and lavish 

 upon her all their acts of charm. Courtship of Old-squaw 



