10 
WiLD -DUCK. 
COMMON WILD DUCK. MALLARD. 
Anas boschas, PENNANT. MONTAGU. 
“| . era, Brisson. 
Anas—A Duck. Boschas-—....sccc000 ? 
THE Wild Duck is common over the continent of Hurope, 
from Norway and Sweden. It is found also in Asia, even to 
Japan; and in America, from Labrador, Behring’s Straits, 
and Newfoundland, to the United States; but in the latter 
is rare. Farther south, however, they are said to become 
more common again, and in Florida to be exceedingly 
abundant. 
Mr. Thomas Allis, of Osbaldwick, near York, thus writes 
in his ‘List of Yorkshire Birds, of the present species—‘Of 
rare occurrence near Halifax and Hebden Bridge, not uncommon 
about Barnsley, frequent in the vicinity of Sheffield and 
Doneaster; it occurs near Huddersfield, is occasionally seen 
about Leeds; it is common about York, and breeds in several 
localities in the neighbourhood; it is met with at Pilmoor, 
near Thirsk.’ Arthur Strickland writes, ‘in the year 1800 
the Act for the Beverley and Barmston drainage was passed: 
in this Act compensation for the destruction of the two 
principal decoys in the county was provided for, and which 
necessarily took place soon after the drainage of the country. 
These were the decoys of Watton and Scorborough. ‘Two 
other decoys, those of Home and Meaux, probably ceased to 
be used about this time also. J am informed that at the 
decoy of Watton only, which had a range of upwards of a 
thousand acres of water, nearly four hundred Ducks have 
been known to be taken in one day. We may imagine the 
