harlequin duck

noun

1. a small diving duck, Histrionicus histrionicus, of North America and Iceland, the male of which has bluish-gray plumage marked with black, white, and chestnut.

harlequin duck

noun

1. a northern sea duck, Histrionicus histrionicus, the male of which has a blue and red plumage with black and white markings

Word History and Origins

Origin of harlequin duck¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Given time to collect his thoughts, he said that within the state of South Dakota, he’s most excited about the five firsts he put on record: Pacific loon, harlequin duck, Arctic tern, purple gallinule and Virginia’s warbler.

From Washington Times

State game officers, working with Clallam County sheriff’s deputies and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team, discovered illegally-hunted or illegally-possessed river otter pelt, bobcat pelt and a harlequin duck carcass while serving a search warrant at Hutt’s residence last Aug. 30, court papers said.

From Washington Times

Harlequināde′, the portion of a pantomime in which the harlequin plays a chief part.—Harlequin duck, a species of northern sea-duck, so called from its variegated markings.

From Project Gutenberg

The harlequin duck is a northern bird that comes but little into the United States on either coast.

From Project Gutenberg

The American Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Buffle-head, Golden-Eyes, Tree Ducks, and possibly Harlequin Duck nest in hollow trees, at times some distance from the water.

From Project Gutenberg