What is Harlequin duck?
{{Taxobox | name = Harlequin duck | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | image = Histrionicus histrionicus drake Barnegat.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Adult drake | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Aves]] | ordo = [[Anseriformes]] | familia = [[Anatidae]] | subfamilia = [[Merginae]] | genus = '''''Histrionicus''''' | genus_authority = [[René Primevère Lesson|Lesson]], 1828 | binomial = ''Histrionicus histrionicus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)}} [[File:Histrionicus histrionicus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.19.2.jpg|thumb| ''Histrionicus histrionicus'']] The '''harlequin duck''' (''Histrionicus histrionicus''), also known as the '''painted duck''', '''totem pole duck''', '''rock duck''', '''glacier duck''', '''mountain duck''', '''white-eyed diver''', '''squeaker''' and '''blue streak''', is a [[duck]] that lives in the [[sea]]. The female is plain, but the male has white markings.<ref> {{cite book |title= Creatures of the Air and Sea|author= Edward S. Brinkley |year= 2003|publisher= Sheena Coupe|location=Singapore |isbn= 0-7944-0353-0|pages= 19|url= }} </ref> This is called ''disruptive coloration'' The male can be difficult to see against surfaces that are not a solid color, like water that ripples. The point is that it disrupts the appearance of body shape, but there are other explanations. In general, bright colours in male birds serve two main functions. One is [[sexual selection]] by the females, in which the colours act as evidence of the male's suitability. The other is [[territory control]] by the males during the mating season. Only experiments and long observation can decide which factors are in play. == References == {{reflist}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Ducks]]