invading army. In squadrons and battalions they march over the fields of 
winter wheat, uprooting and devouring the tender seedlings, till the ground is 
left bare and brown behind them. Whether taken with rifle or shot gun, 
stalked, or shot as they pass in long chains overhead, they afford excellent 
sport. Closely allied to the bean goose is the grey lag goose (Anser ferus). 
The latter is a much rarer bird in North China, and is only met with in the 
more out of the way places, such as the lonely marshes of the Ordos Desert. 
The ruddy sheldrake (Casarca ferruginea) is extremely common in some 
places. We found this duck most numerous on the Hsi-an Fu plain in South 
Shensi and in Honan. Here they were seen in pairs in every field, but at 
Yii-lin Fu they occurred in large flocks. We seldom paid any attention to 
these birds as they were easy to shoot and their flesh was coarse and oily. 
The common sheldrake (Tadorna cornuta) is only occasionally met with. 
The wild swan (Cygnus ferus) is also an occasional visitor. 
Coming to the ducks we find that the commonst species are the mallard 
(Anas boscas), the teal (Nettion crecca), the pochard (Nyroca ferina), the shoveller 
(Spatula clypeata), the golden eye (Clangula glaucion) and the pin-tail (Dafila acuta). 
There are other less common species such as the exquisite mandarin duck 
(Aex galericulata) and Swinhoe’s duck (Anas zonorhyncha). 
Of all the foregoing the only species that remain north of Hsi-an Fu 
throughout the winter are the mallard and teal. 
The mallard and Swinhoe’s duck not infrequently breed in the marshes 
of Shansi. 
The Baikal teal (Nettion formosum) may sometimes be seen during the 
migratory season together with the smew (Mergus albellus), the red-breasted 
merganser (Merganser serrator), and the goosander (Merganser castor). The red- 
breasted merganser often remains for the winter, when it may be found in the 
valleys of the high mountain ranges where open streams not infrequently 
exist even in the dead of winter. 
It is but a step from ducks to waders and aquatic birds in general, in 
which branch of bird life the provinces of North China are particularly rich. 
A small species of gull (Larus crassirostris) follows up the course of the 
Yellow River and many of its larger tributaries. It may be seen flitting over 
ponds and marshes wherever these exist. On the present expedition these 
birds were noted in Shansi, on the T’ai-yiian plain, again on the Hsi-an Fu 
plain in Shensi, and also near Lanchou, in Kansu. The tern is a summer 
visitor only. 
The bittern (BSotaurus stellaris), the heron (Ardea cinerea), the black stork 
106 
