458 



8 



write (Ibis, 1875, p. 427), "very rare, and only to be met with during hard winters. Herr Buda 

 Elek shot one in 1840 on the Strell; and it is mentioned as having occurred in the Mezoseg by 

 Herr Otto, on the authority of Baron Kemeny Bela, from whom, however, Herr Stetter received 

 only a description." It is not uncommon on the Southern Danube, on the coasts of the Black 

 Sea, and in Turkey, but by no means so numerous as the Ruddy Sheldrake in the latter country ; 

 and Dr. Th. Kriiper says that it is only occasionally met with in Greece. There are two examples 

 in the Museum at Athens, one obtained on the 8th of April, and the other in January, in Attica. 

 It is stated by Colonel Drummond-Hay to be common in winter in Macedonia. According to 

 Dr. Kriiper it occurs in Asia Minor in winter ; but Canon Tristram does not appear to have met 

 with it in Palestine. In North Africa it is tolerably common, but does not range far south. 

 Von Heuglin says that it is common in Lower Egypt, and he saw it in flocks and pairs in the 

 Fayoom in May and early in June ; in the winter it is even commoner than in the summer ; but 

 he never observed it south of the Fayoom. Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt, p. 281): — 

 " The present species appears to be rarer than the Buddy Sheldrake ; for it is not so often found 

 in the market at Alexandria. I have met with it on two occasions — once near Sioot, and once 

 in the Fayoom." It is found in Algeria, where, however, it is said to be less numerous than the 

 Buddy Sheldrake. Canon Tristram met with a few at Tuggurt, but did not observe it elsewhere 

 until he arrived at Djendeli ; and Favier says that near Tangier it occurs between November and 

 February, but is not regular in its appearance. 



In Asia it occurs right across the continent. Pallas and Eichwald record it from the 

 Caspian ; and Mr. A. O. Hume writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 260) that he only noticed it " about 

 the Muncher lake, where numbers were feeding aloug the banks on the northern and western 

 shores. They were very wary ; and though I stalked many of them, and got within a hundred 

 and a hundred and fifty yards, I failed to secure a specimen. In Upper India, on similar large 

 inland pieces of water, as low down as Cawnpore and Fyzabad, a few are generally to be seen 

 during the cold season." Dr. Jerdon writes (B. of India, ii. p. 794) that it is " not common in 

 any part of India, and is unknown in the south. It has been occasionally procured in the 

 Calcutta bazaar by Mr. Blyth, is sometimes met with in the N.W. Provinces, in Sindh, and at 

 the foot of the Himalayas, and has been observed by Mr. Simson, B.C.S., in Eastern Bengal." 



Neither Von Middendorff nor Von Schrenck appear to have met with this species in Siberia ; 

 and Dr. G. Badde only found it in the Tarei-nor and the saline steppes of Dauria. He first 

 observed them at the Tarei-nor on the 4th April, and saw them paired on the 28th of that 

 month ; and some remained as late as the 2nd of September. According to Pere David (Ois. de 

 la Chine, p. 497), it visits China regularly in winter, but only in small numbers. Late in the 

 autumn a few are seen near Takoo ; and he observed it late in the spring on the sandy plateaux 

 of Mongolia, where he believes that it not unfrequently breeds. Mr. Swinhoe records it from 

 Amoy, Takoo, Pekin, and the island of Formosa ; and it is said by Dr. Radde and Von Siebold 

 to occur in Japan. 



In general habits, except as regards its nidification, the present species bears a good deal of 

 resemblance to the Mallard, and in its flight resembles the flight of that species more, perhaps, 

 than any other of the Ducks ; but it walks with rather less ease, though more gracefully, than the 

 domestic Duck. It appears to affect the sea-coast, being seldom met with far from salt water, 



