24 THE AUDUBON (BULIUOE AIH 
Evanston, Oct. 28 to Nov. 31, 1968—Margaret Lehman, Joel Greenberg. 
2 males present, one a bird of the year, the other an adult. 
Chicago, late Dec., 1968—Ted Nork et. al. Possibly one of the Evanston 
birds? 
Evanston, Dec. 22, 1969. Charles T. Clark. 
Apparently the species is present nearly every year but it never 
seems to linger very long in one spot nor does it ever occur in large num- 
bers. It appears to prefer breakwaters and harbors (Chicago, Wilmette, 
Waukegan) or off rocky shorelines (Evanston’s Northwestern University 
landfill, perhaps the best place to look for the species in late fall) but 
this may be due to lack of observations along the rest of the shcre. In 
Illinois, Harlequins show little tendency to associate with other ducks, 
being more “loners” than most. I have heard of them being seen near 
Buffleheads, and I once saw one land near some scaup, but when flushed 
Harlequins go their own way. 
There are two subspecies of Harlequins in North America, the Eastern 
race (histrionicus) and the Western race (pacificus). With extreme caution 
it is possible to identify male birds in the field, but the observation must 
be made under ideal conditions and the bird must be close to the observer. 
The chesnut crown stripe of the Western race is not as rich in color nor 
does it extend directly over the eye as it does in the eastern race. A good 
illustration of this is found in Kortright (Harrisburg 1942). 
The one Illinois specimen of the Harlequin is apparently lost (Smith 
and Parmalee, 1955) so subspecific determination of our records is im- 
portant when possible. The Eastern race breeds in Newfoundland, south- 
ern Baffin Island, and northeastern Quebec, while the Western race is 
separated by 3,000 miles of seemingly good habitat and breeds in southern 
Alaska, the Yukon, and the Rocky Mountains south to northern Wyoming. 
I suspect our birds originate in the northwest for several reasons. First, 
banding records of waterfowl indicate ducks are more likely to head south 
and east in the fall if they breed in northwest Canada and Alaska and 
for northeastern Canadian birds to migrate south in a more or less direct 
line route. Secondly, recent records in “Audubon Field Notes” show many 
records from the western Great Lakes with very few from Lake Huron 
and Erie. There is also a slight possibility that our records come from a 
heretofore undiscovered breeding area somewhere between the two known 
breeding areas in north central Canada. Sources: 
Cory, Charles B. Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin, Chicago, 1909. 
Kortright, Francis H. The Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America, 
Harrisburg, 1942. 
Godfrey, W. Earl The Birds of Canada, Ottawa, 1966. 
Nelson, Edward W. Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. 1, pp. 39-44, 1876. 
Smith, Harry R. and Parmalee, Paul W. A Distributional Check List of 
the Birds of Illinois, Springfield, 1955. 
Also recent issues of the Loon, Passenger Pigeon, and Audubon Field Notes. 
—Robert, P. Russell Jr. 
1020 Ashland Avenue 
Wilmette, Illinois 
Material for the FIELD NOTES Section 
should be mailed directly to the editor, Elton Fawks, 
510 Island Ave., East Moline, Ill. 61244 
