10 



WILD DUCK. 



COMMON WILD DUCK. MALLARD. 



Anas boschas, PENW ANT. MONTAGU. 



" /era, BUISSON. 



Anas A Duck. Boschas ? 



THE Wild Duck is common over the continent of Europe, 

 from Norway and Sweden. It is found also in Asia,, even to 

 Japan; and in America, from Labrador, Bearing's Straits, 

 arid 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 

 Doncaster; 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. I 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 



