Harlequin Duck

The Harlequin Duck is a small, compact sea duck named for the male's bold, theatrical plumage: slate-blue body marked with chestnut flanks and intricate white stripes, spots, and crescents outlined in black. Females are plainer grayish-brown with three small white face patches, providing camouflage among rocks and rushing water.

This species is unusual among ducks for breeding along fast, turbulent mountain streams and wintering on rocky, wave-battered coastlines, making it one of the most habitat-specialized waterfowl in North America.

Key field marks

• Small size, rounded head, and short bill
• Breeding male: slate-blue overall with chestnut flanks, and crisp white stripes/spots edged in black on the head, neck, and body
• Female: dusky brown with three whitish spots on the face (in front of and behind the eye, and near the base of the bill)
• Often seen bobbing in whitewater rapids or riding ocean swells close to rocks

Similar species

Males are unmistakable once seen well. Females can be confused with female scoters or other small dark ducks, but the three distinct white facial spots and small, rounded shape are diagnostic.

Harlequin Ducks breed along fast-flowing, turbulent mountain rivers and streams in western North America, eastern Canada/Greenland, and parts of Iceland and Russia, nesting on the ground near rushing water. After breeding, they migrate to rocky, surf-battered coastlines, where they spend the winter riding the waves close to shore, often among rocks and jetties.

Behavior

Harlequin Ducks are superb swimmers adapted to turbulent water, diving and foraging among rocks in both fast rivers and pounding surf; they are also strong fliers with rapid wingbeats.

Voice

Makes a distinctive high-pitched squeaking or mouse-like call, giving rise to old nicknames referencing its unusual voice.

Feeding

Aquatic insect larvae in fast streams during the breeding season, switching to mollusks and crustaceans gleaned from rocky coastal waters in winter.

Nesting

Nests on the ground in dense vegetation or rock crevices close to fast-flowing streams; clutches typically number 5-7 eggs, and females raise the brood alone.