MALLARD eh 
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
TOTAL LENGTH ... aD in. Female smaller. 
WING  ... Mee Gorell eb. 
BEAK nes oe ee won vc 
'TARSO-METATARSUS DEO >, 
Hee Ea Bis sag. OAS SOEs ae 
Allied Species and Representative Forms.—The South 
African representative is T. cana, with a grey head. 
Australia and New Zealand possess other forms (Saunders). 
MALLARD. Anas boscas (Linneus). 
Coloured Figures. —Gould, ‘Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. v, 
pl. 15; Dresser, ‘Birds of HKurope,’ vol. vi, pl. 422; 
Lilford, ‘ Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 33. 
The Mallard or Wild Duck is familiar to every sportsman 
and naturalist. It is resident to a large extent in the 
British Isles; nevertheless its numbers are greatly aug- 
mented by the arrival of migrants which come from more 
northern latitudes. The Mallard frequents marsh, river, 
lake and sea-coast. During autumn and winter large 
numbers appear on our tidal estuaries, where, in company 
with Wigeon and other species, hundreds may be seen 
drifting on the tideway. During severe frost, Mr. R. Warren 
has found Mallards as numerous as Wigeon on the sands 
of the Moy estuary, co. Mayo. It is not at all times easy 
to identify a ‘Wild Duck’ (especially a female or an 
immature bird) resting on the open sea. The plumage, 
when viewed at a distance, often appears darker than it 
really is, especially on a gloomy winter’s day, when I have 
seen the birds of a flock look almost as black as Scoters. 
It would appear that the Mallards which are seen round 
our coasts in winter are migrants'; several examples of 
these I have examined in the flesh, and have found them 
smaller and lighter in weight than home-bred birds taken 
from inland districts. 
1 T have examined specimens shot at sea in early autumn in very 
poor condition, probably newly-arrived visitors which had been suffering 
from migratory fatigue. 
