This is Bird Note.

It's one of those clear, quiet winter mornings on the bay.

The silence is broken by a series of loud, insistent calls.

What's the source of this wild refrain?

There, a hundred yards out where the water deepens,

is a small cluster of sea ducts dressed mostly in white.

They're long-tailed ducks, back for the winter from nesting far to the north.

Long-tailed ducks are named for the males plumage.

Long, slender tail plumes extend almost a foot behind his body.

Long-tailed ducks are far more vocal than most ducks.

A feature that has earned them a host of charming nicknames.

The name that probably comes closest to capturing the sound of the males call

is from the Cree language.

Ha, ha, way.

This winter, along either coast or on the Great Lakes,

listen for long-tailed ducks.

By listening, you'll have an advantage because they can be hard to spot.

When they're feeding, long-tailed ducks spend a lot of time underwater

and they can dive as deep as 200 feet.

Even so, you can get a good look at a long-tailed duck on our website,

birdnote.org.

I'm Michael Stein.

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