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HISTORY OF 
HARLEQUIN DUCK. 
Clangula Histrionica. Linn^us. 
Few of the Duck tribe exceed the Harlequin in the beauty 
of their plumage, and the singularity and distinctness of its 
markings. It must be a matter of regret to all who have seen 
the species, that it is of such rare occurrence in the British 
Isles. 
It is another of the birds whose true habitat is in the Arctic 
regions, but of which a scattered few occasionally visit our isles. 
In some parts of America the bird is far from rare, being found 
in considerable abundance in the neighbourhood of Hudson’s 
Bay, frequenting small rivulets, where Wilson informs us that 
it breeds, the female laying ten white eggs in the grass. It is 
