COMMON SHELDRAKE 213 



Accidental Occurrence 



A single specimen was shot October 5, 1921, in Essex County, Massachusetts (Auk, vol. 39, 



p. 104, 1922). I believe there is little chance that this was an escape. North 



America 



Migration 

 Being essentially a marine duck, we find that most of the occurrences of this species in the interior, in 

 Europe at least, take place while it is on migration. There seems to be reason to suppose that the 

 birds commonly migrate overland along river courses. At any rate in Switzerland, southern Ger- 

 many, northern Italy, etc., it is known chiefly as a bird of passage. In the springtime the species seems 

 to leave its winter quarters in the Mediterranean as early as February (Morocco, Favier fide 

 Dresser, 1871-81; Cyprus, Bucknill, 1911), passing Italy in March (Giglioli, 1886), Dalmatia in 

 March (Kolombatovic, 1903), and arriving in north Germany not before March (Naumann, 1896- 

 1905). They arrive also in England in March (F. O. Morris, 1903) while in Scandinavia they do 

 not ordinarily appear before late March, April, or May (Nilsson, 1858). They reach Finland by 

 May (Palmgren, 1913). 



In the autumn they leave Scandinavia in August and September, some staying till October 

 (Nilsson, 1858). Germany they leave in October (Naumann, 1896-1905), pass Dalmatia in 

 October (Kolombatovic, 1903), reaching Malta in late October or early November (C. A. Wright, 

 1864), and Morocco, as well as Cyprus, in November, or even December (Favier, fide Dresser, 1871- 

 81; Bucknill, 1911). 



On the Black Sea, E. von Middendorff (1891) made some valuable observations. He found that 

 on the Sea of Azov the first did not arrive until March 27, and that the species was not common till 

 May 21. In the autumn the last left by September 21. 



In Asia the species occurs on passage in northern Persia (Zarudny, 1911), in southern Kashgaria 

 and northern Tibet, as well as on the Kuku-Nor — 37° north latitude, 100° east longitude (Koslow, 

 1899; Prjevalski, see Deditius, 1886). In Nepal it occurs chiefly on passage and only rarely (Hume 

 and Marshall, 1879), and Prjevalski observed it on migration on the Lob-Nor. There are practi- 

 cally no dates available for this region. They leave northern India by the middle of April and return 

 by the middle of November (Hume and Marshall, 1879; Baker, 1908). The fact that Prjevalski 

 saw them on the Lob-Nor as early as February, and says that they arrive in Mongolia by late March, 

 would seem not only to indicate an overlooked route but also to lend probability to the fact that 

 some of the birds winter in Tibet. 



Recovery of Banded Birds. From a brood of ducklings banded in Hampshire, England, in 

 July 1912, three were recovered as follows. One at Saltash, Cornwall, February 10, 1913, one in 

 Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, August 12, 1913, and one at the mouth of the Weser in Germany, 

 August 18, 1917, thus demonstrating an eastward dispersal which is interesting (Ibis, ser. 11, vol. 3, 

 p. 517, 1921). 



GENERAL HABITS 



Characteristics and Haunts. The Common Sheldrake is a salt-water duck, 

 preferring a shore-line with wide flats, partly sand and partly mud, where it feeds, 

 and deserted sand-dune areas on islands where it breeds. Its occurrence inland, in 

 western Europe, except during the breeding season, may be regarded as accidental, 

 and it very rarely visits fresh water. Naumann (1896-1905) tells of a large decoy 



