290 



the posterior half of the wing, one on each side of the hack, and one on each side of the rump; lower 

 parts, including head and neck, pale fulvous ; a distinct blackish-olive stripe from the bill to and back 

 from the eye, with a wide and conspicuous superciliary stripe of fulvous above it. 



Up to 1889, when Mr. Howard Saunders published his 'Manual of British Birds,' there was but 

 one fairly reliable record of the occurrence of this Duck in Great Britain, viz. that recorded by 

 Blyth (Wood's 'Naturalist,' p. 417) of a male obtained by Mr. Bartlett in the London market in 

 the winter of 1837-38, which is now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney. A female was along 

 with it, which, however, Mr. Bartlett did not secure. Thompson states (Ann. Nat. Hist. xv. 

 p. 310) that one was obtained by a wigeon-shooter on Strangford Loch, near Belfast, in February 

 1844, but was not preserved; and, as mentioned by Mr. Saunders, Thomas Edward, of Banff, records 

 one as having been shot on the Burn of Boyndie in January 1841, but this also was not preserved. 

 There are also two records in the ' Zoologist,' which are not worthy of further notice. Quite 

 recently, however, Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited at the Zoological Society, on behalf of 

 Lord Lilford, a female which he said (P. Z. S. 1895, p. 273) Sir B. Payne-Gallwey found hanging 

 in the shop of Mr. Murray, game-dealer, Leeds, with a lot of M. penelope, and had every 

 appearance of having been freshly killed. This specimen will be figured by Lord Lilford in his 

 ' Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands.' 



So far as I can ascertain, it appears to have only been obtained once on the continent of 

 Europe, a female, now in the collection of M. Marmottan, of Paris, having, according to 

 Messrs. Marmottan and Vian, been taken at Le Crotoy, Somme, on April 13th, 1875 ; but 

 Mr. Saunders states that he was informed by Mr. O. H. Howarth that there is a specimen in a 

 collection at St. Michael, Azores, ostensibly obtained there. It has been once recorded from the 

 Eastern Palaearctic area by Prof. Stejneger, who says (Orn. Expl. in Command. Isl. &c. p. 158) 

 that " a single individual of the American Wigeon was found dead among the sand dunes near 

 the village, Bering Island, on the 1st May, 1883. It was moulting, the old plumage very worn, 

 and new feathers protruding all over the body. Some storm had probably carried it astray, as 

 this species is not known as an inhabitant of the Asiatic side of the Pacific Ocean. So far as I 

 am aware this is the first record of its having ever been obtained in Asia. It was a female, 

 and very lean." 



In North America, where this Duck is common, it is found from the Arctic Ocean to 

 Guatemala, and has also been obtained in several of the West-Indian Islands. 



Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (Water B. of N.America, i. p. 520) write respecting its 

 range in the United States as follows : — " Mr. Hearne states that this Duck was, a century ago, 

 a very uncommon visitor to Hudson's Bay. It usually kept in pairs, being rarely seen in flocks, 

 and was most frequently observed on rivers and marshes near the sea coast. Mr. Ross found 

 it common on the Mackenzie ; and Capt. Blakiston also met with it in Hudson's Bay, and saw it 

 in large numbers on the Saskatchewan. It occurs in the spring and fall near Calais, Maine, 

 where, however, Mr. Boardman regards it as rather rare. It is an occasional, rather than a 

 common, visitor to New England. According to Giraud, it is not numerous on Long Island, 

 though so abundant farther south. 



"Mr. Allen found this bird quite common in the valley of the Salt Lake; Mr. R. Browne 



