ANATID^. 



435 





THE GARGANEY. 



QuERQUEDULA ciRCiA (LinncGus). 



This very local species visits England early in March, and, if un- 

 molested, remains in a few suitable spots to breed (whence it is often 

 called the Summer-Teal) ; while it is again observed on the migra- 

 tion southward in autumn. It nests regularly in the ' broad ' district 

 and other parts of Norfolk — where, owing to protection, it is on the 

 increase, also sparingly in Suffolk, probably in ^Varwickshire, Hants, 

 and some other counties ; visits Lincolnshire in April ; has been 

 found nesting in Holderness, Yorkshire ; and used to breed in 

 Northumberland before the drainage of Prestwick Car. Elsewhere 

 its occurrences are irregular, and in Wales and the west they are 

 decidedly infrequent. The same may be said of the mainland of 

 Scotland, and its visits to the Orkneys and Shetlands, as well as to 

 Barra in the Outer Hebrides, are exceptional. In Ireland, Mr. 

 Ussher informs me that he has records of twenty-six occurrences 

 between January and August, but chiefly during March and in the 

 south and west. 



The Garganey seldom visits the Faroes or even the south of Nor- 

 way, but it breeds rather plentifully in Denmark, Sweden up to about 

 lat. 60°, Finland, and Russia as far as Archangel ; while it is very abund- 

 ant in East Prussia, and generally distributed in summer through- 

 out the rest of Europe, especially in the east, down to the Caspian, 

 Black and Mediterranean Seas, though of irregular occurrence in 



