ANAS BOSCAS : THE MALLARD. 3O5 



red. Female : wing-markings as in the male ; general plumage 

 variegated with yellowish-brown and dusky ; bill blotched with 

 yellowish and blackish. Length about 24.00 ; extent, 36.00 ; 

 wing, 11.00; bill, 2.40; tarsus, 1.75. 



Although so common a bird in North America at 

 large, and one of the most widely distributed of Ducks 

 in various parts of the world, the Mallard is rare in New 

 England, and does not ordinarily go further eastward 

 along the coast. It is chiefly found in winter, and 

 during the migrations. The numerous authorities speak 

 of the bird in similar terms, and none appear to be 

 aware of its breeding within our limits. 



We have collated the following references : — Mass., 

 very rare, Peabody, Rep. B. Mass., 1839, P- 3^^- Essex 

 Co., Mass., rare, Putnam, Pr. Essex Inst., i, 1856, p. 219. 

 Essex Co., Mass., one specimen, Coues, ibid., v, 1868, 

 p, 298. Mass., rare, Allen, ibid., iv, 1864, p. J^, and 

 Bull. Essex Inst., .\, 1878, p. 27. E. Mass., rare, May- 

 nard, Nat. Guide, 1870, p. 147. Salem. Mass., R. L. 

 Newcomb, Forest and Stream, i, p. 279. Norway, Me., 

 rare, Verrill, Pr. Essex Inst., iii, 1862, p. 153. Calais, Me., 

 rare, Boardman, Pr. Bost. Soc, ix, 1862, p. 129. New 

 Brunswick, rare. Chamberlain, Bull. Nutt. Club, vii, 

 1882, p. 105. Newport, R. I., very rare, one shot, 

 anonymous writer in Forest and Stream, v, p. 204. 

 Conn., a rare migrant, Merriam, Rev. B. Conn., 1877, p. 

 123 ; cites Linsley ; cites Grinnell, Oct. and Nov., 1870, 

 and Brooks, as to its occasional presence in fall. Conn., 

 occasional, R. E. Morris, Forest and Stream, vii, p. 116. 

 Maynard calls it " only a wanderer" in Bds. E. N. Am., 

 1 88 1, p. 441. Coues speaks of it as " far from common," 

 in Bds. of N. W., 1874, p. 560. One of the newspapers 

 (Boston Herald of Nov. 6, 1882) speaks of four Mallards 



