in the late Count Ninni's Collection. 73 



young male, but I am inclined to think that it is an adult 

 male in moulting-dress, on account of the considerable 

 development of the shields at the base of the bill. The most 

 southern specimen of the King-Eider previously killed in 

 Europe appears to be that obtained near Boulogne, and 

 mentioned by Degland and Gerbe^. The species is rare 

 even in England and Scandinavia, and from what authors 

 say it seems to be altogether an Arctic bird. 



13. Erismatura leucocephala. (Venetian name " Ma- 

 gasseto foresto.") 



The White-headed Duck is very rare in the Venetian 

 estuary; it appears in winter and at the periods of migration, 

 but always as a straggler. I procured one from the territory 

 of Padua on the 25th February, 1884, and two on the 25th 

 February, 1896, which were killed in the estuary in the 

 channel of ''Piove,^^ opposite my hunting-quarters in the 

 '' Valle Zappa,^^ by the gamekeeper C. Framonte. The last- 

 named specimens (male and female) are both very fine ; 

 they have been stuffed by Mr. H. Bonomi, of Milan, and are 

 now in my collection, along with a specimen obtained in 

 1884 and with others from Sardinia. 



This sj)ecies is not generally distributed over Italy ; it is 

 often met with in Sicily and Sardinia, where it breeds, and 

 where it seems to be a resident as well as a migrant ; it is 

 also seen in the great marshes of the Capitanata and in the 

 salt-lagoons of Barletta, where it most probably breeds, but 

 this cannot be stated with certainty. In many other parts of 

 Italy it is a very rare bird, and the further north we go the 

 more it becomes simply a straggler. 



14. Mergus merganser. (A^enetian name " Serolon de 

 Po,^' '^ Serolon oca.") 



The Goosander is a rare bird in the Venetian lagoon, and 

 is not met with every year. Young specimens are the most 

 common. It prefers the sea and open lagoon, where the 

 water is deep, and is most frequently seen between the 

 months of October and December, but it occurs sometimes 



* Orn. Eur. ed. 2, ii. p. 559 (1867). 



