BIRDS OF NEW YORK 213 



comes to the surface to breathe, dodges and dives so suddenly that it is 

 almost impossible to capture or shoot it. It is usually called Butterball 

 or Butterbox by the sportsmen in allusion to the fact that its entire body 

 is encased in a thick layer of fat. Its flesh is not held in high repute, but 

 the young are tender and well flavored. 



Harelda hyemalis (Linnaeus) 

 Old Squaw 



Plate 20 



Anas hyemalis Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 1:126 

 Fuligulaglacialis DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 328, fig. 263 

 Clangula hyemalis A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 154 



harel'da, according to Newton from Havelle, "common Islandic name for 



the bird, having reference to the trilling sound of its musical 



notes " [Diet. p. 406]; hyema'lis, of winter 



Description. Male: Breeding plumage; sides of the head pale gray, 

 becoming white behind the eye; the rest of head, neck, breast and upper 

 parts in general sooty brown or blackish; upper back and scapulars varied 

 with reddish buff; outer tail feathers white; abdomen white; base and tip 

 of bill black, the middle portion pinkish; iris yellow; feet leaden blue with 

 dusky webs; middle tail feathers greatly elongated, tapering and dividing 

 toward the tips. Winter plumage: Head, neck and foreback white 

 with gray cheek patches and blackish patches on the sides of the head ; a 

 broad blackish zone across the forebreast ; scapulars grayish white ; the rest 

 of upper parts blackish and under parts white. Female in summer: Head, 

 neck and upper parts dusky brown, the white space around the eye and 

 another on the side of the neck ; scapulars light brown with blackish centers. 

 In winter: Head, neck and under parts mostly white; crown and ear spot 

 dusky; forebreast grayish; upper parts dusky brown; the scapulars varied 

 with light brown and gray; middle tail feathers not elongated. Young: 

 Similar to winter female, but the scapulars mostly like the back, and the 

 head and neck more extensively grayish brown. 



Length, male, 21-23 inches; female, 15-16; extent 30; wing 8-9; tail, 

 male, 8-9; female, 3; bill 1.25; tarsus 1.2; middle toe and claw 2.45. 



Field marks. This duck may be recognized in summer by its dark 

 head and neck, with a large grayish white spot about the eye; in winter by 

 the white or light colored head and neck with blackish patches on the sides 

 of the head. The male also has a sooty brown breast, and is our only duck, 

 besides the Pintail, with excessively elongated tail feathers. 



