ANATID, 423 
THE MALLARD. 
Anas Boscas, Linnezus. 
The Mallard, or Common Wild Duck, was formerly more numerous 
in the British Islands than—owing to the progress of drainage and 
the consequent extension of agriculture—it is at present; yet, thanks 
to protection, its numbers have increased of late. As a rule it 
is resident during the year in suitable localities throughout the 
United Kingdom, but the birds which breed with us are few in 
proportion to the numbers which annually arrive from the Continent 
during the cold months ; and there are still places where decoys are 
worked with profit, as shown by Sir R. Payne-Gallwey in his ‘ Book 
of Duck Decoys,’ to which the reader is referred for information on 
that interesting subject. 
This species visits Greenland, and is abundant during the summer 
in Iceland ; while it is generally distributed throughout Europe south 
of the Arctic circle, and breeds in suitable localities down to the 
Mediterranean, as well as in Northern Africa. The range of the 
migrants from the north extends to the Canaries, Madeira, and the 
Azores, a few pairs remaining to nest in the last-named group. In 
Asia the Mallard is found—wherever the water does not freeze for 
any length of time—from Turkestan to China and Japan; it breeds 
as far south as Kashmir, and visits India and Upper Burma in the 
cold season. It inhabits the temperate portions of North America, 
wintering as far south as Panama; but in the north-east of that 
continent its place is in some degree taken by the closely-allied 
