78 BIRDS 



gan, where tlie first stragglers arrived about the last of 

 October, the main body arriving about a month later and 

 departing about the first of April, a few lingering until 

 about the last of the month. 



THE HARLEQUIN DUCK* 



Harlequin is not the only name by which this bird is 

 known. In the New England States and northward along 

 the Atlantic coast it is frequently called the "Lord and 

 Lady," because of the white crescents and spots of its plu- 

 mage and the proud bearing of the male. It is also called 

 the Rock Duck, the Mountain Duck, and the Squealer. Its 

 range covers the northern portion of North America, Europe, 

 and Asia. It breeds only in the northern part of its range. 



The sexes vary greatly. While the male, which is the 

 sex of the bird of our illustration, is brightly colored, 

 the female is much more somber. The young resemble the 

 adult female. 



The food of the harlequin consists almost entirely of 

 parts of aquatic plants and the smaller crustaceans and 

 mollusks. 



Its nest, though usually placed on the ground, is some- 

 times built in the hollow of a tree or hollow stump, though 

 always near a body of water. The nest is usually a simple 

 structure made of the stems of water plants, twigs, and 

 grass, thickly lined with the downy feathers from the breast 

 of the duck. The eggs are occasionally laid on the grass, 

 and no effort is made to build a nest. The female thor- 

 oughly covers the eggs when she leaves the nest. 



