Harlequin Duck - BirdForum Opus

Male (left) and female (right)
Photo by Gaukur
Iceland

Histrionicus histrionicus

Identification

Length: 38–51 cm (15-20 in). Weight: 540-680 g. A medium-sized diving duck. White ear patch.

Adult male

First Winter
Photo by bobsofpa
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, New Jersey, USA, March 2010

• Slate blue with chestnut sides
• White markings including a white crescent at the base of the bill

Adult female

• Less colourful
• Brownish-grey plumage
• White patch on the head around the eye

Similar species

Adult male unmistakeable. Females and juveniles can be confused with female scoters at long range, particularly Surf Scoter.

Distribution

Northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts and adjacent mountain rivers. North America, Greenland, Iceland and eastern Russia.

Taxonomy

Female left, male right
Photo by Gisli
Iceland

The only species in the genus Histrionicus, but fairly closely related to Long-tailed Duck and the scoters.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted by some authors^[1], though others consider the species monotypic^[2][3][4].

• H. h. histrionicus:

• Iceland, Greenland, and eastern Canada (Baffin Island, Labrador and eastern Quebec); winters south to Long Island, New York; vagrant to northwestern Europe, including Great Britain (18 accepted records as of end of 2013).

• H. h. pacificus:

• Northwestern North America, northeastern Russia, and Bering Sea islands; winters south to South Korea and central California coasts.

Some eastern European vagrants are thought to come from the Pacific population, rather than the more sedentary Atlantic population^[4].

Habitat

Breeds beside cold, fast-flowing rivers; winters at sea off exposed rocky shores.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream.

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of molluscs and other crustaceans with the addition of insects and their larvae in the spring and summer months.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334108
4. Madge, S. & Burn, H. (1988). Wildfowl. Helm.
5. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)
6. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Harlequin Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Harlequin_Duck

External Links

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