BIRDS OF ICELAND 51 



-j- Tadorna casarca (Linn.). 

 EuDDY Sheld-Duck. 



Native name : none. 



An inhabitant of South Asia, North Africa, and 

 South-east Europe, which strays unaccountably in 

 many directions. Several have been shot in the North 

 of Scotland, several in Sweden, and elsewhere in the 

 north-west. In August 1892, a flock appeared in the 

 south-west of Iceland, and three were shot at Eyrar- 

 bakka by Herra P. Nielsen, and two more in the 

 Eyjafjur&'r (north) a little later. 



■^Anas boscas, Linn. Common Wild Duck. 



Native names : ' Stokkond ' (Grondal explains ' stokkr ' 



to mean a rivulet or drain ; but surely it is the 



Scandinavian ' stok-and ' = ' tree-stump duck ' ?) : 



' GroenhofSi ' ($ only, = ' greenhead '), ' Grd-ond ' 



(?, partim), ' Husond ' (partini) ; to which Grondal 



adds ' Blcikollsbnd ' (blue-headed duck) and 



' Kilond ' (also = drain-duck). 



Resident, though, no doubt, partially migratory, 



and pretty abundant, as its wealth of names would 



indicate. Breeds in marshes amongst long grass and 



sedge, occasionally on dry hill-sides (even birch woods) 



at a considerable distance from water. The eggs are, 



as is well known, greenish drab, and about 2|- inches 



long. 



