ANATID^.. 



445 



THE HARLEQUIN DUCK. 



CosMONETTA HiSTRi(')MCA (Linnceus). 



As shown by Prof. Newton in 'The Ibis,' 1859, pp. 162-166. and 

 also by Mr. J. H. Gurncy jun., in his ' Rambles of a Naturalist,' 

 pp. 263-269, the majority of the birds which have from time to time 

 been recorded as Harlequin Ducks obtained in Great Britain have 

 been proved — where proof was possible— to be Long-tailed Ducks, 

 American Wood-Ducks, or some other species. It appears probable, 

 however, that the specimens figured by James Sowerby in his 

 'British Miscellany ' (1806), were procured in Scotland; and the 

 collection of Mr. J. Whitaker of Rainworth contains a male bird 

 obtained by Mr. Roberts of Scarborough from some fishermen who 

 had found it dead on the shore at Filey in the autumn of 1862. 

 On December 2nd 1886, three were observed near the Fame 

 Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, and two young males 

 which were secured are, respectively, in the collections of Mr. R. 

 W. Chase and the Rev. Julian Tuck. 



There are no authenticated instances of the occurrence ot the 



