mmmn^vs 



496 



LAMELLIKOSTJtAL SWIMMERS — ANSEUES. 



|( 1 1' 



bers, and wore distvilmtt'd over the regiuu extending,' from the sea-coast to the remot- 

 est west. Near Cninberhiiid House these birds were found in vast multitudes. At 

 their first arrival on the sea-eoast their flesh was good ; but when the bird was moult- 

 ing, it beeauie s'> rank that few Europeans could eat it. This peculiarity, however, 

 was confined to (hose Ducks which bred near the sea-coast. 



This species is not common in Eastern North America. Mr. Boardman has seen 

 it in New l^runs^vick and Eastern Maine, but it is only an occasional and rare visitor 

 to that region, and is by no means connuon in Massachusetts. It is found in small 

 nundjers on Cape Cod, and may possibly breed there. I am not aware that it has 

 been si'cn tliere in winter. Only a single specimen is reported as having been met 

 with in Bernuula. Dr. Bryant speaks of it as being very common, during the winter, 

 in the Bahamas. 



Dr. Kenncrly, in ^Farcli, ISno, found this Duck abundant along the Conalitos and 

 Janos rivers, occurring generally in flocks, but sometimes singly. It was also 

 common along the Kio San I'cdro of Sonora. 



Professor Kundien finds the Mallard (piite common in Southern Wisconsin, where 

 it breeds in the marshes. The nuiles gather in flocks in Lake Koskonong, while the 

 fenuilcs take the entire charge of the nest, eggs, aiul young. In some cases these Ducks 

 remain during mild winters, gathering around open spriug-holes. Tliey are much 

 more abundant in the fall than at any other time, when they visit the cornflelds of 

 the prairies in large numbers, anu commit great dej)redations on the crops. 



]Mr. J. A. Allen found this bird very common in the valley of Great Salt Lake. 

 In California, according to Dr. Coojjcr, it abounds during the wet season on all the 

 fresh waters of that region, but rarely appearing on those that are salt. It is sup- 

 posed to breed in nearly all [)arts of that State. It also breeds along the inland lakes 

 and streams up to the very summits of tlie mountains, and northward up to and be- 

 yond the sixty-eighth parallel. This remarkable power of auaptation to life in 

 various climates and conditions seems to flt this sjjccies for domestication. Moreover 

 its flesh is not surpassed by that of any other species ; fed with the same food, even 

 the renowned Canvas-back is not its su])crior. 



Mr. Dall found it to be one of the most abundant winter visitants at Unalashka, 

 where it occurred in hi"';;.: ni" ibers as early as (October 12, remaining until the suc- 

 ceeding nu)nth of April, when it migrated northward. It was seen near Mazatlan, 

 in Western Mexico, by Colonel Grayson, but was not abundant, and was met with 

 only during the wintt-r montlis. 



According to jMr. Bidgway, this is the most common Duck throughout the in- 

 terior, where it breeds abundantly in all suitable localities, and wliere it is also a 

 winter resident. Mr. Osbert Salviu found this species common at Zaue, in North- 

 eastern Africa. It was noticed in the Sahara Begion by Mr. Tristram, and was seen 

 by Mr. E. C. Tay^ejr in Egyi)t. Captain E. (r. Shelley states ("Ibis," I.S71) that he 

 found it very abundant in Egypt and Nubia, and frequently remaining there to 

 breed. According to M •. T. L. I'owys, the marshes of E[)irus and Albania swarm 

 with it throughout the winter; and Mr. H. Saunders describes it as breeding in the 

 " Marisnia," or salt-water lagoons, in Spain. Mi'. C. W. Shepard ol)served it breeding 

 in the north of Iceland, on the shores of Lake My-vatn. It was wild and unsociable, 

 and nested in (juiet, swampy places on the shore of the lake, or on the islands not 

 frequented by other species. Mr. Swinhoe adds this Duck to the fauna of Formosa, 

 and also states that he found it near Amoy, in China. Mr. Godwin notes its presence 

 in all the lakes throughout all the islands of the Azores grouj), and found it breeding 

 anu)ng the mountain lakes and marslies in Flores. Middendorff includes this species 



