Harlequin duck

Behaviour:
Expert swimmers, they ride rapids, dive and swim on the bottom of swift rivers and streams,

Habitat:
Coastal marine environments. In spring they leave the salt water to go to fast-flowing rivers and streams to breed.

Feeding:
When in freshwater, they eat lae of black flies, and midges. In winter, they eat small crabs, frog, and fish eggs.

Threats:
Pollution, acid rain, atmospheric fallout of heavy metals, and deterioration of water quality.

Protection:
They have been protected in Canada as a migratory game bird since the Migratory Birds Convention Act became law in 1917.

Wintering:
They spend the winter on the south coast of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and southeastern Alberta.

Migration:
They go to northern Quebec and Labrador to molt and then continue on to the west coast to winter.

Description:
Males are slate blue with chestnut flanks, and streaks of white on its head and body. Females are brownish-gray and covered in brown speckles. Their name comes from the strange costumes worn by the Italian Harlequin in the Harlequin theatres.

Breeding:
They breed on the Gaspésie, northern Quebec, in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Alaska.

Nest:
The nest, lined with down, may be built on the ground under clumps of shrubs or under logs, in trees cavities, or even on bedrock ledges.

Number of eggs:
3 to 5, cream coloured eggs.

Babies:
The hen incubates the eggs for 28 or 29 days. Young birds resemble females.

Source: Hinterland, 1997 (http://ffdp.ca/hww2.asp?id=47)