Old-Squaw

(Clangula hyemalis), also long-tailed duck, a diving duck of the family Anatidae. Body length, about 60 cm; weight, about 550–900 g. The plumage is mottled, combining white, brown, black, and rust. The coloration changes greatly with the seasons. The old-squaw has circumpolar distribution. In the USSR it is found in the tundra and the forest tundra from the Murmansk coast to the Chukchi Peninsula, as well as on Kolguev Island, Vaigach Island, Novaia Zemlia, the Novosibirskie Islands, and Bering Island. It winters in northern Europe and in eastern Asia. The old-squaw nests along riverbanks and the shores of lakes. The clutch contains six to eight eggs (sometimes as many as ten), which are incubated for 23 or 24 days. The ducks feed on insects, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish. The old-squaw has some commercial importance.