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THE RUDDY SHELD-DUCK. 

 Tadorna casarca (Linnaeus). 



The Ruddy Sheld-Duck was first recorded as a British bird from 

 a specimen now in the Newcastle Museum, killed near Blandford, 

 Dorset, during the severe winter of 1776. The species was long 

 ago introduced on many of our ornamental waters, and some birds 

 shot in Norfolk, Northamptonshire and other places were either known 

 or strongly suspected to have escaped from semi-captivity ; though 

 there was less doubt about an example shot from a party of four in 

 Romney Marsh, Kent, on September 8th 1884, as well as a few 

 obtained in Scotland and Ireland. These, however, need not now 

 be specified, for in 1892 — a year of very severe drought in south- 

 eastern and southern Europe — the Ruddy Sheld-Duck appeared in 

 such numbers as to preclude any reasonable doubt of a genuine 

 migration. According to the interesting record given by Mr. F. 

 Menteith Ogilvie (Zool. 1892, pp. 392-398), not only single birds, 

 but flocks of 10-15 ^^d even 20 were observed in June and July in 

 several parts of Ireland, the Solway district, and between Sutherland 

 and Norfolk. A few others have subsequently occurred. 



This emigration in 1892 did not stop at the British Islands, for 

 some wanderers actually found their way to Iceland and even to 

 Greenland ; while solitary examples have been recorded from 

 Norway, Sweden, Bornholm in the Baltic, and Lake Ladoga ; but 



