SEA DUCKS 



(154) Harelda hyemalis 



(Linn.) (An Icelandic name for this bird; 

 Lat., winter). 



OLD SQUAW; LONG-TAILED 

 DUCK; OLD WIFE; SOUTH- 

 SOUTHERLY. Bill comparatively 

 short and high at the base. Ad. c? 

 in winter — As shown by the swim- 

 ming bird. In summer very different 

 as shown by the nearest flying bird. 

 Ad. 9 — Tail pointed but feathers 

 not lengthened; upper parts dusky, 

 the feathers more or less margined 

 with buff; under parts and sides of 

 head whitish, the latter with a dark 

 spot on the cheeks. L., cf 21.00, 

 9 16.00; W., 8.60; T., cT 8.00, 9 3.00; 

 B., 1.05. 



Range — Northern Hemisphere. 

 Breeds in the Arctic regions. Win- 

 ters south to the Great Lakes and 

 N. Car. 



rather than submit to capture, is shared by all the sea ducks. 

 Male Buffle-heads are beautiful in plumage and sprightly 

 in manner. Their handsome crests represent their various 

 moods by being opened or closed, more or less, in the same 

 manner as those of Hooded Mergansers, but probably are 

 of the greatest use during the spring match-making. Cavi- 

 ties in trees or stumps furnish nesting places for them and the 

 eggs are often resting on a bed of feathers a foot or more 

 below the entrance. 



They are regarded in the United States as cold weather 

 ducks, appearing within our waters only when those of 

 more northern regions are frozen. 



OLD-SQUAWS or LONG-TAILED DUCKS are one of 

 the very few species that undergo a marked change between 

 the summer and winter dress. As may be seen from the 

 picture, in this instance the change in plumage is a radical 

 one, the birds figured being perfectly plumaged ones. All 

 intermediate gradations between these plumages occur. 



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