The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies.
Adult males are slate blue with chestnut sides and white markings including a white crescent at the base of the bill. Adult females are less colorful, with brownish-grey plumage and a white patch on the head around the eye. Both adults have a white ear patch. Their breeding habitat is cold, fast moving streams. The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream. They are short distance migrants and most winter near rocky shorelines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe.
These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Today, this is the only species of its genus. Two prehistoric harlequin ducks were described from fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus. The Harlequin Duck takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colorfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor".
