This is Vertnote.

Some ducks don't sound like ducks at all.

Some, like the Harlequin, squeak, earning them the nickname of sea mice.

Harlequins are unique in the duck world in other ways as well.

Alone among North American waterfowl, Harlequins breed along fast-flowing rivers and streams.

Quick and agile and rushing white water, they dive to the bottom of mountain streams for food.

What kind of name is Harlequin for a duck?

If you're lucky enough to spot one of these rare birds in winter,

perhaps along a rocky shore of the Puget Sound in Washington, or Penobscot Bay in Maine,

you may guess the answer.

Dressed in multicolor patches, Harlequin is the gesture of traditional Italian comedy.

The male duck with the gesture's name is just as striking,

with his slate-blue feathers and vivid white, black, and chestnut markings.

The rigorous lives of Harlequins require great adaptability,

transitioning from fresh water to salt, from meals of catasfly larvae to crabs and barnacles.

Some, in fact, migrate by traveling directly downstream from the mountains to the ocean.

Constant, however, is their unmatched ability to swim and feed in the turbulent waters where they live.

Get a good look at a Harlequin duck at our website, birdnote.org. I'm Mary McCann.