THE HARLEQUIN DUCK. 229 



portion of the neck, the breast and under parts are white. 

 The back is nearly black, and the wings are prettily 

 marked with black and white. The bill is black, deep 

 at its base, and rather short. 



In the female the bill is brown, lighter towards the 

 tip ; the head and upper part of the neck are also brown, 

 with a ring or collar of white encircling the latter about 

 the middle. The lower part of the neck and the back are 

 ash-coloured, and the wings white and grey. The legs 

 and toes in both sexes are orange, with the intervening 

 membrane or web of a dark colour. The plumage of 

 young males for the first few months of their existence 

 resembles that of the female. 



The Golden Eye is a winter visitor to Great Britain, 

 and is well known in many parts of Europe, especially in 

 the north. In Canada it is abundant on Green Island 

 in October, and in the month of May congregates on 

 Sixteen Island Lake in great numbers. 



A still more beautiful bird than the above is the 

 Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus torquatus) which is tolerably 

 abundant on the northern coast of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, where it breeds on the low lands lying between 

 the numerous fresh- water lakes that are met with a few 

 miles inland. A few are found on the Restigouche, but 

 its head-quarters are rather north of Canada. 



Its neatly made and warmly lined nest is hidden in 



