Everything about The Harlequin Duck totally explained
The
Harlequin Duck,
Histrionicus histrionicus, is a small
sea duck. In
North America it's also known as
Lords and ladies.
Adult males are slate blue with chestnut sides and white markings including a white crescent at the base of the bill. Adult females are less colourful, with brownish-grey plumage and a white patch on the head around the eye. Both adults have a white ear patch.
Their breeding habitat is cold fast moving streams in north-western and north-eastern
North America,
Greenland,
Iceland and western
Russia. The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream.
They are short distance
migrants and most winter near rocky shorelines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They are very rare vagrants to western
Europe.
These
birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat
molluscs,
crustaceans and
insects.
The eastern North American population is declining and is considered endangered. Possible causes include loss of habitat due to
hydroelectric projects and loss of life due to
oil spills near coastal areas.
Today, this is the only species of its
genus. Two prehistoric harlequin ducks were described from
fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus:
Histrionicus shotwelli is known from Middle to Late
Miocene deposits of
Oregon,
USA and was considered to form a distinct
monotypic genus,
Ocyplonessa.
Histrionicus ceruttii which lived in
California during the Late
Pliocene was at first taken to be a species of the related genus
Melanitta.
The Harlequin Duck takes its name from
Arlecchino,
Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in
Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the
Latin word "histrio", "actor".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Harlequin Duck'.
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