COMMON SHELDRAKE 211 



as to its occurrence in winter in Holland, but there can be no reasonable doubt of its presence there. 

 In Belgium it is more or less common on the coast and in the mouth of the Scheldt Holland 

 according to the severity of the weather (Dubois, 1912). Belgium 



In France the species is common on the west coast according to Berthelot (1875), while Ternier 

 and Masse (1907) state that it occurs on the north coast only in severe seasons. Degland (1849) has 

 reported its occurrence at Dunkirk and even inland at Lille. The species has been _ 

 found a few times in Luxembourg too, though it appears to be chiefly a bird of passage 

 in that section (de la Fontaine, 1868). In the south of France the birds winter in Aude and Herault, 

 as well as in the eastern Pyrenees (La Croix, 1875). 



To all appearances the species is of common occurrence in Spain. In cold winters it is found at 

 Gerona (Vayreda, fide Reyes y Prosper, 1886), while it is common on the Albufera de Valencia, in 

 Andalucia and Murcia (H. Saunders, 1871), in the marismas at the mouth of the Gua- Spain 

 dalquivir (H. Saunders, 1871; A. Chapman, 1888) and at Malaga (Reyes y Prosper, 

 1886). Arevalo y Baca (1887) has recorded it for Malaga and Seville. In Portugal it g 



has been found regularly at Ovar and Aveiro (Tait, 1887) and is not rare at Ribatejo (Barboza de 

 Bocage). A. C. Smith (1868) states that it is of occasional occurrence in Portugal. 



Across the Straits the species winters sparsely in Morocco (Whitaker, 1905), though not uncom- 

 monly in Algeria, especially at Lake Fetzara (Rothschild and Hartert, 1912), and near the sea 

 (Whitaker, 1905). Tristram (1860) found a few even at Tuggurt in the North Sahara. Morocco 

 In Tunis it appears to be common in winter, according to the testimony of Zedlitz Algeria 

 (1909), Koenig (1888), Whitaker (1905), Millet-Horsin (1912) and Bede (1915). Tuni S 



On the other hand the birds seem to be rare in winter in Sicily, at Terranova, very rare at Messina, 

 and rather rare in Calabria, though regularly found in all these places (Giglioli, 1886). A few winter 

 at Malta (C. A. Wright, 1864), but the species is of irregular appearance there Sicily 

 (Despott, 1917). In Apulia it is common, though northward through Campania, the Malta 

 Marches, Tuscany, Liguria and Emilia, it is everywhere a rather rare bird, possibly a bit more com- 

 mon in the vicinity of Padua and Venice, but very rare in Lombardy (Giglioli, 1886; Italy 

 Arrigonl degli Oddi, 1898). Some winter in Sardinia, though not large numbers (Salva- Sardinia 

 dori, 1865; Brooke, 1873), but the species appears to be regular and of frequent occurrence in Corsica 

 (Jourdain, 1911). According to Soffel (Zool. Garten, vol. 56, p. 245, 1915) it occurs occasionally 

 on Lago Maggiore, but Althammer (1857) states that it is met with rarely in the Switzer- 

 Tyrol. It seems to be not uncommon in Switzerland, especially in the western parts, land 

 and has been recorded from Neuchatel, Bienne, Morat, Geneva, Bale, Zurich, Constance and 

 Lucerne, in some of which places it is common in cold winters (Fatio, 1904). 



In the former Austro-Hungarian Empire the species has been recorded from almost all sections 

 in winter. Mojsisovics (1887) summarizes the records for Trieste, Dalmatia, Krain, Tyrol, Galicia, 

 Transylvania and East Slavonia. Supplementary records are those for Bohemia Austria 

 (Fritsch, 1872), Styria (Washington, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1887, p. 182), Vas, Bohemia 

 southwestern Hungary (von Chernelhaza, Aquila, vol. 14, p. 180, 1907), Komorn, Hungary 

 southwestern Hungary (von Hegymeghy, ibid., p. 336, 1907), Hunyad, southeastern Dalmatia 

 Hungary (von Barthos, ibid.), Nyiregyhaza, north-central Hungary (von Szomjas, Aquila, vol. 20, 

 p. 464, 1913), Szegedin, central Hungary (Hung. Ornith. Club), Dalmatia (Kolombatovic, 1903) 

 and Transylvania (Danford and Harvie-Brown, 1875). It is very important to note, however, that 

 in all of these localities, that is throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the species is 

 exceedingly rare, and probably occurs only in the severest winters. 



Farther north it occurs rarely in Poland (Taczanowski, 1888) and has been found on the Baltic 

 coast in the winter of 1911 (Greve, 1911). It also straggles as far as St. Petersburg Poland 

 (Bianchi, 1907), but does not seem to winter regularly in Russia anywhere farther Russia 

 north than the littoral of the Black Sea. It winters in the Crimea (Radde, 1854; Brauner, 1899) 



