This adult male Harlequin Duck was resting away from the worst of the coastal swells. The Harlequin Duck is uncommon to rare depending on locations. They tend to hang about coastal coves away from the worst of the weather although I have photographed them in the surf. They are a prize to see or photograph.

Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck 100 Harlequin Duck 101

Severe Crop and Enlargement of Harlequin Duck Photograph

Harlequin Duck 102 Harlequin Duck 103 Harlequin Duck 104 Harlequin Duck 105

Harlequin duck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article is about the species of wild sea duck. For the domestic duck breed, see Welsh harlequin.

Harlequin duck
Harlequin drake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Histrionicus Lesson, 1828
Species:	H. histrionicus
Binomial name
Histrionicus histrionicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
H. h. pacificus (Brooks, 1915) (disputed) H. h. histrionicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Ocyplonessa Brodkorb, 1961 Anas histrionica Linnaeus, 1758 Anas minuta Linnaeus, 1758

The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian Arlecchino, French Arlequin), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor". Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker, lords and ladies and blue streak.

Taxonomy

In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the harlequin duck in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Dusky and Spotted Duck". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from Newfoundland in eastern Canada.^[2] When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the harlequin duck with the ducks, geese and swans in the genus Anas.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas histrionica and cited Edwards' work.^[3] The harlequin duck is now the only species placed in the genus Histrionicus that was introduced in 1828 by the French naturalist René Lesson.^[4][5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[5] The name histrionicus is from Latin and means "theatrical" or "like a harlequin" (histrio means "actor").^[6]

Two prehistoric harlequin ducks have been described from fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus: Histrionicus shotwelli is known from Middle to Late Miocene deposits of Oregon, United States 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.^[7]

Adult breeding males have a colorful and complex plumage pattern. The head and neck are dark slate blue with a large white crescent marking in front of the eye that extends up to the crest, a small round dot behind the eye, and a larger oval spot down the side of the neck. A black crown stripe runs over the top of the head, with chestnut patches on either side. A black-bordered white collar separates the head from the breast. The body is largely a lighter slate blue with chestnut sides. A black-bordered white bar divides the breast vertically from the sides. The tail is black, long and pointed. The speculum is metallic blue. The inner secondary feathers are white and form white markings over the back when folded. The bill is blue-grey and the eye is reddish. Adult females are less colourful, with brownish-grey plumage with three white patches on the head: a round spot behind the eye, a larger patch from the eye to the bill and a small spot above the eye.^[8]

Their breeding habitat is cold fast moving streams in northwestern and northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and eastern Russia. The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream. They are usually found near pounding surf and white water. They are short distance migrants and most winter near rocky shorelines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They are very rare migrants to western Europe.

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.