° 1910 J Fay, The Canvas-back in Massachusetts. 371 



E. A. Samuels, in his ' Ornithology and Oology of New England/ 

 published in 1867, says: "The Canvas-back is rarely taken in 

 New England. I have seen a few that were killed in Ponkapoag 

 Pond, Canton, Massachusetts." J. A. Allen speaks of its being 

 "occasionally found at the western part of the state." 



The earliest mention was made in 1832 by Thomas Nuttall in 

 his 'Ornithology of the United States and Canada,' where he 

 says : " In the depth of winter a few pairs, probably driven from 

 the interior by cold, arrive in Massachusetts Bay in the vicinity of 

 Cohasset and near Martha's Vineyard; these, as in the waters of 

 New York, are commonly associated with the Redhead or Po- 

 chard to which they have so near an affinity." 



Neither Wilson nor Audubon commented on the Canvas-back 

 in Massachusetts or even New England. J. A. Allen, in ' Birds of 

 Massachusetts,' in 1878, states that it is a " very rare autumn and 

 spring migrant." In 1895, F. M. Chapman, in his 'Hand-book of 

 Birds of Eastern North America,' considers it "rare on the At- 

 lantic Coast north of Delaware," and Messrs. Howe and Allen, in 

 1901, in their 'Birds of Massachusetts,' say it is "a very rare 

 autumn migrant on the coast," mentioning about ten places where 

 it has been reported. Dr. C. W. Townsend, in 'Birds of Essex 

 County,' 1905, calls it a "very rare transient visitor" and gives 

 but four records. Since the publication of his book there have 

 been ten more killed on five different occasions, making more records 

 for the last five years than there were for the entire period previous 

 to 1905. 



Wells W. Cooke, in 1906, in Bulletin Number 26 of the Bio- 

 logical Survey, entitled 'Distribution and Migration of North 

 American Ducks, Geese and Swans,' says "it is hardly more than 

 a straggler in Massachusetts." Also, in the same year, William 

 Brewster, in his ' Birds of the Cambridge Region of Massachusetts/ 

 puts the Canvas-back in the list of occasional or accidental visi- 

 tors, considering it "of very rare occurrence during migration." 

 He further says, " It is not surprising that the species is and appar- 

 ently alwaj^s has been but little more than a chance straggler to 

 New England." This exactly describes the situation up to the 

 time of the publication of his book. For this region he is able to 

 give but three records, and although since then there have been no 



