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"BRITISH DIVING DUCKS."^ 



Mr. Millais, \\ ho has already pubUshed a fine work on the 

 British Surface-feeding Ducks, has contrived to give us in 

 the first volume devoted to the Diving group not only a 

 beautiful book but a very useful one on a most fascinating 

 subject. It is so full of well-arranged information and so 

 lavishly illustrated with both beautiful and useful plates 

 that the many who are keenly interested in the subject 

 will either speedily acquire the work or greatly covet its 

 possession. 



This first volume treats of the Red-crested, Common and 

 Baer's Pochards, the Ferruginous, Tufted and Scaup Ducks, 

 the Common and Barrow's Goldeneyes and the Buffel-headed 

 Duck, as well as the Long-tailed and the Harlequin. We 

 are very glad to see that Mr. Millais carries the synonomy 

 back to 1758 and that all the specific names used by him 

 are the same as those employed by us in our Hand-List. 

 Mr. Millais explains in a footnote that his work had gone to 

 press before our Hand-List appeared (though it is nearly 

 a year ago since that event) and he differs with us somewhat 

 in his generic groups. Thus while he places the first six 

 mentioned Ducks in the genus Nyroca as Ave do, he groups 

 the Goldeneyes, Long-tailed and Harlequin in the one 

 genus Clangula, whereas we keep the Goldeneye with the 

 Pochards and separate the Long-tailedf and Harlequin Ducks. 

 But after all generic groupings are to a large extent artificial 

 in our present state of knowledge and we fear that it will 

 be a long time before complete agreement can be reached 

 on this point. 



The inclusion of Barrow's Goldeneye as a British species 

 has recently (c/. antea, p. 272) been showTi to be entirely 

 unwarranted and this is mentioned by Mr. Millais in a foot- 

 note added while his work was " in the press." We must 

 take exception, too, to the inclusion of Baer's Pochard, 

 whose status as a British bird rests on the one example shot 

 at Tring on November 5th, 1901. In these days when 

 water-fowl from all parts of the world are kept in semi- 

 captivity in this country it is not advisable to admit such 

 a species on the strength of one occurrence. Moreover 



* British Diving Ducks. By J. G. Millais, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., 

 Vol. I. With twenty-two coloured and ten monochrome plates from 

 drawings by A. Thorbum, O. Murray Dixon, H. Gronvold and the 

 Author. (Longmans.) Two Vols. £12 12s. net. 



f Mr. Millais is of course in error in stating (p. 4) that we place the 

 Long-tailed Duck in the genus Nyroca. 



