The Ducks. 
149 
THE 
LONG-TAILED 
DUCK. 
(. Harelda glacialis.) 
This is a very handsome species of Duck, which visits us in 
winter, occurring most plentifully on the Scottish coasts and the 
Hebrides, being of less frequent occurrence in England and 
Ireland. It breeds throughout the arctic regions of Europe and 
Northern Asia, as well as in North America, coming south in 
winter. It is often very late in returning to its summer quarters, as I have seen a 
flock of birds in the Sundal Fjord, in Northern Norway, on the 13th of June. It is 
an extremely good diver, and the male has a remarkably musical note, which gains 
for it the name of the ‘ Organ Duck ’ in Alaska. The nest is a depression of 
the ground, and is made of grass, plentifully lined with the bird’s down. The 
eggs are six or seven in number, of a clay brown or dull green colour, and measure 
from two to two-and-a-quarter inches. 
The long-tailed Duck needs 
no detailed description, as 
its pied appearance, long 
tail and drooping white 
scapulars easily distinguish 
it from all the other British 
species ; the bill is orange, 
with a black base and black 
nail at the tip. 
This Duck 
is well-named 
the* Harlequin,’ 
for it possesses 
a very varied 
combination of 
colour, the back being slaty- 
blue and the sides of the 
body bright chestnut, with bands of black and white on the fore-neck and breast ; 
there is a white patch on the face, also visible in the female, and the sides 
of the crown are chestnut. The female is a plain brown bird, and has a spot ot 
white behind the ear-coverts, in addition to the white face. 
The Harlequin Duck is an extremely rare visitor to our shores, and only 
three instances of its occurrence are considered to be genuine. It breeds in the 
high north of Europe, Asia, and North America, as well as in Greenland and 
Iceland. The nest is placed close to the water, and the bird frequents the 
vicinity of rushing streams. The nest is a depression in the ground, lined with 
the bird’s down, which is large and dense. The eggs are from seven to ten in 
number, of a cream-colour, and rather glossy. They measure about two-and-a- 
quarter inches. 
THE 
HARLEQUIN 
DUCK. 
(Cosmonctta 
histrionica.) 
The Long-tailed Duck. 
The Harlequin Duck. 
