RUDDY SHELDRAKE 233 



Suffolk, Elgin, Lincoln, and Norfolk. Earlier records for Ireland are those for counties Wicklow, 

 Waterford, Kerry and Down (Ussher and Warren, 1900). More recent records for the British Isles 

 are: one for Romney Marsh (Parkin, Zoologist, ser. 3, vol. 8, p. 469, 1884), another on Suliskerry, off 

 the Orkneys, June, 1909 (B. O. U. Checklist), a pair for Caithness, June 27, 1910 (Bruce, Glasgow 

 Nat., p. 134, 1910), and repeated occurrences in Norfolk (Gurney, British Birds, vol. 11, p. 255, 

 1918). 



In Germany the species has been met with a few times. I find records for the Rhine Provinces (Le 

 Roi, 1906-07), Silesia (Naumann, 1896-1905), Lusatia (Tobias, Journ. f. Ornith., vol. 1, p. 217, 1853), 

 Brandenburg (Schalow, 1915) and Hamburg (Reichenow, Journ. f. Ornith., vol. 30, _ 

 p. 122, 1882). In July, 1895, four specimens were taken near Koenigsberg, in east 

 Prussia (Floericke, 1898), and Wuestnei (1902) reports that a flock was met with at Neubranden- 

 burg in Mecklenburg. Palmen (1876) is authority for an old, and it seems to me, probably mistaken 

 record for Lake Ladoga, Russia. It has never been included in the list of birds of the St. Petersburg 

 Government. Nevertheless a specimen was taken in 1871 in Esthonia (Loudon-Lisden, 1909). 



In the Netherlands the species has been twice recorded from Holland, one specimen dating from 

 October 6, 1869, and the other from December 5, 1910 (van Oort, 1911). There are Nether- 

 no records for Belgium, and very few for France, these being an old one for Camargue, lands 

 Rhone Delta (Miiller, Journ. f. Ornith., vol. 4, p. 232, 1856), one for Toulouse, Jan- Belgium 

 uary, 1876 (Lacroix, 1876), an old one for Normandy, 1838, and a more recent one for France 

 Calvados, December, 1912. Furthermore the species has occurred once at Crotoy and is known 

 to appear rarely about Perpignan and in the eastern Pyrenees (Brasil, Bull. Soc. Linn, de Nor- 

 mandie, Caen, ser. 6, vol. 6, p. 31, 1913). In Switzerland specimens have occasionally been taken, 

 one on Lake Constance and two on Lake Geneva (Fatio, 1904). Its status in Austria and Hungary 

 is vague. Fritsch (1872) claims that it has occurred near Frauenberg, Bohemia, and Austria 

 Mojsisovics (1887) records it for east Slavonia and Dalmatia. Kolombatovic (1903) Hungary 

 also reports its occurrence on the Narenta River. In Hungary it has very naturally occurred from 

 time to time, coming from the east side of the Transylvanian Alps and consequently being most 

 frequently met with in Transylvania. From there it has been reported by Danford and Harvie- 

 Brown (1875), Wagner (fide Dresser, 1871-81), Stetter (ibid.), Csato (1895), Frivaldski (1891). 

 From Budapest it has been recorded by Petenyi (1884), and from the Sajo and Maros Rivers by 

 Mojsvar (1897). Szabo even claims that occasionally large flocks, as on April 10, 1830, fly over, 

 but I think this record is a mistaken one. At best the species is rare in Hungary. 



I find a few records for Italy. Four specimens were taken in Tuscany: two in the Romana, one 

 near Naples, and one in Apulia (Arrigoni degli Oddi, 1904). In Sicily it has been T . 

 taken at Lentini (Doderlein, 1869) and at Syracuse (Arrigoni degli Oddi, 1904), and 

 three were taken on Malta (C. A. Wright, 1864; Adams, 1870). Despott (1917) adds a recent 

 record for Malta. 



The species has been recorded for Guadiaua, Portugal (Oliveira, 1896), and is of regular occurrence 

 in parts of Spain. At Gerona it is found in cold winters, though rare (Vayreda y Vila, Portugal 

 1883), but in the marismas about the mouth of the Guadalquivir it breeds regularly Spain 

 in small numbers (Saunders, 1871; Irby, 1875; A. Chapman and Buck, 1910). 



Passing over to Africa it appears that the Ruddy Sheldrake is resident from Morocco to Tunis, in 

 the mountainous districts. Rochebrune's (1883-85) statement that the species is resident on the 

 Upper Senegal and Gambia has never been verified, and, like most of that writer's state- Northern 

 ments, must be regarded with suspicion until proved. It is also reported as resident Africa 

 from Morocco (Favier, fide Dresser, 1871-81; Lynes, Ibis, ser. 11, vol. 2, p. 300, 1920), Tangiers 

 (Carstensen, 1852; Irby, 1875; Favier, fide Dresser, 1871-81), Algeria (Loche, 1867; Sclater and 

 Salvin, 1859; Taczanowski, 1870; Buvry, 1857; Tristram, 1860) and Tunis (Talamon, 1904; Whit- 

 aker, 1905; Matschie, 1894). It seems that the birds are met with on the very edge of the Sahara, 



