﻿2 
  14 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Distribution. 
  The 
  Old 
  squaw, 
  Old 
  wife, 
  Long 
  -tailed 
  duck, 
  Co 
  ween, 
  or 
  

   South-southerly, 
  is 
  a 
  common 
  winter 
  duck 
  on 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  Long 
  Island, 
  on 
  

   the 
  Great 
  Lakes, 
  and 
  the 
  Hudson 
  and 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  rivers, 
  wherever 
  the 
  water 
  

   is 
  open. 
  It 
  is 
  sometimes 
  positively 
  abundant 
  on 
  these 
  waters, 
  especially 
  in 
  

   April 
  and 
  November, 
  at 
  which 
  season 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  quite 
  generally 
  distributed 
  on 
  

   the 
  smaller 
  lakes 
  and 
  rivers, 
  sharing 
  with 
  the 
  Buffle-head 
  and 
  Lesser 
  scaup 
  

   the 
  reputation 
  of 
  being 
  the 
  most 
  widely 
  distributed 
  of 
  the 
  bay 
  ducks 
  on 
  the 
  

   small 
  inland 
  waters. 
  It 
  leaves 
  us 
  in 
  May 
  for 
  its 
  arctic 
  breeding 
  grounds 
  and 
  

   returns 
  again 
  to 
  our 
  coasts 
  late 
  in 
  October 
  or 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  November. 
  

  

  The 
  Old 
  squaw 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  swiftest 
  flyers 
  and 
  best 
  divers 
  among 
  our 
  

   ducks. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  the 
  most 
  noisy 
  and 
  at 
  times 
  makes 
  the 
  lakes 
  resound 
  with 
  

   its 
  loud 
  sonorous 
  cries 
  which 
  have 
  given 
  it 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  "Hah-ha-way" 
  

   among 
  the 
  Crees, 
  according 
  to 
  Dr 
  Richardson. 
  It 
  is 
  likewise 
  called 
  South- 
  

   southerly 
  on 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  and 
  other 
  southern 
  waters, 
  and 
  Cow-he-een, 
  

   or 
  Coween, 
  by 
  the 
  gunners 
  of 
  western 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  other 
  localities 
  for 
  the 
  

   same 
  reason. 
  This 
  duck 
  seems 
  to 
  possess 
  an 
  inordinate 
  amount 
  of 
  blood 
  

   and 
  its 
  vitality 
  is 
  so 
  great 
  that 
  it 
  can 
  scarcely 
  be 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  usual 
  methods. 
  

   Its 
  flesh 
  is 
  dark 
  and 
  rank, 
  caused 
  by 
  an 
  uninterrupted 
  diet 
  of 
  shellfish 
  and 
  

   other 
  aquatic 
  animals. 
  While 
  feeding 
  in 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  this 
  bird 
  is 
  fre- 
  

   quently 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  gill 
  nets 
  at 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  15 
  fathoms 
  and 
  sometimes 
  at 
  

   27 
  fathoms 
  (162 
  feet). 
  At 
  Dunkirk, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  between 
  five 
  and 
  seven 
  thousand 
  

   have 
  been 
  taken 
  at 
  one 
  haul 
  [see 
  Bacon, 
  Ornithology 
  and 
  Oology, 
  17: 
  45], 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  noticeable 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  old 
  squaws 
  are 
  far 
  less 
  abundant 
  than 
  they 
  

   were 
  30 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  as 
  their 
  breeding 
  grounds 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  arctic 
  regions 
  it 
  is 
  

   probable 
  that 
  this 
  wholesale 
  destruction 
  on 
  the 
  lakes 
  is 
  the 
  chief 
  cause 
  of 
  

   their 
  decrease. 
  

  

  Histrionicus 
  histrionicus 
  (Linnaeus) 
  

   Harlequin 
  Duck 
  

  

  Plate 
  19 
  

  

  Anashistrionica 
  Linnaeus. 
  Syst. 
  Nat. 
  Ed. 
  10. 
  1758. 
  1:127 
  

   Fuligula 
  histrionicus 
  DeKay. 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  33 
  i, 
  fig. 
  259, 
  260 
  

   Histrionicus 
  histrionicus 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No.' 
  155 
  

  

  histrion' 
  icus 
  , 
  pertaining 
  to 
  a 
  player, 
  tricked 
  out 
  in 
  colors 
  like 
  a 
  clown 
  

  

  Description. 
  Male 
  in 
  winter: 
  Plumage 
  mostly 
  leaden 
  bluish 
  turning 
  

   to 
  blackish 
  about 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  the 
  peculiar 
  white 
  markings 
  which 
  are 
  dis- 
  

  

  