Harlequin Duck Images

Harlequin Duck Images, Facts and Information:

Histrionicus histrionicus

• Harlequin Ducks are small sea ducks with slate-blue bodies, white spots and stripes, and chestnut sides. Males are striking with bold white markings on the head and body, while females are brownish-gray with small white facial patches.
• Harlequin Ducks are short distance migrators. They breed along fast-moving rivers and streams in Alaska, Canada, and parts of the northern Rockies, and winter along rocky coastlines of the Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.
• Harlequin Ducks thrive in turbulent environments including mountain streams, coastal waves, rocky shorelines, and bays with strong surf.
• Harlequin Ducks eat aquatic insects, fish eggs, small crustaceans, mollusks, and some plant material.
• Harlequin Ducks lay 5 to 7 eggs which hatch in about 27 to 29 days. Females incubate, and they usually nest in cavities, on the ground near rivers, or under shrubs.
• Harlequin Ducks are often called “Sea Mice” because of their squeaky calls.
• A group of Harlequin Ducks can be called a “raft” of ducks.
• The oldest known Harlequin Duck was 20 years old.

I hope you enjoy viewing my Harlequin Duck photos.