MALLARD 91 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH... _.'.. 25 in. Female smaller. 



WING ... 14-5 ,, 



BEAK ... T75 ,, 



TARSO-METATARSUS ... 2 '25 ,, 



EGG 2'6 x 1*8 in. 



Allied Species and Representative Forms. The South 

 African representative is T. cana, with a grey head. 

 Australia and New Zealand possess other forms (Saunders). 



MALLARD. Anas boscas (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, 

 pi. 15; Dresser, 'Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 422; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 33. 



The Mallard or Wild Duck is familiar to every sportsman 

 and naturalist. It is resident to a large extent in the 

 British Isles ; nevertheless its numbers are greatly aug- 

 mented by the arrival of migrants which come from more 

 northern latitudes. The Mallard frequents marsh, river, 

 lake and sea-coast. During autumn and winter large 

 numbers appear on our tidal estuaries, where, in company 

 with Wigeon and other species, hundreds may be seen 

 drifting on the tideway. During severe frost, Mr. K. Warren 

 has found Mallards as numerous as Wigeon on the sands 

 of the Moy estuary, co. Mayo. It is not at all times easy 

 to identify a ' Wild Duck ' (especially a female or an 

 immature bird) resting on the open sea. The plumage, 

 when viewed at a distance, often appears darker than it 

 really is, especially on a gloomy winter's day, when I have 

 seen the birds of a flock look almost as black as Scoters. 

 It would appear that the Mallards which are seen round 

 our coasts in winter are migrants ] ; several examples of 

 these I have examined in the flesh, and have found them 

 smaller and lighter in weight than home-bred birds taken 

 from inland districts. 



1 I have examined specimens shot at sea in early autumn in very 

 poor condition, probably newly-arrived visitors which had been suffering 

 from migratory fatigue. 



