50 LAMPRONESSA SPONSA 



In British Columbia and Vancouver the Carolina Duck is not common (Kermode, 1904), though it 

 used to breed commonly on the lower Fraser at Sumas, Chilliwack, and Burnaby Lake (Fannin, 

 1891), and at Agassiz (J. and J. M. Macoun, 1909). A. Brooks (1917) reports that it is still a regular 

 breeding bird on the lower Fraser. Cantwell (Recreation, vol. 8, 1898) records a mounted specimen 

 at Juneau, Alaska, shot there about 1896. Some of the old western records undoubtedly refer to the 

 Hooded Merganser, so they must be accepted with caution. 



In the United States west of the Mississippi, as in western Canada, the Carolina Duck is as good 

 as absent from a large belt between about 100° and 115° west longitude. On the Pacific coast it used 

 Western to be common in Washington, but it is now rare as a breeder about Puget Sound (Ed- 



United son, 1908; Rathbun, 1915; U.S. Biological Survey records), though according to 



btates ^y l Dawson and Bowles (1909), it is still common on the lower Columbia. It was 



recently noted near Tacoma (J. H. Bowles, The Murrelet, Sept., 1922). In Oregon it was formerly 

 a common resident in Washington County (Anthony, 1886) and at Fort Klamath (J. C. Merrill, 

 1888) and even twenty years ago some were nesting locally (Pope, 1895-96; Woodcock, 1902). Half 

 a century ago it used to be plentiful in California though now it is rare, occurring chiefly in the San 

 Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, but breeding south at least to Ventura County and east to Lake 

 Tahoe (Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer, 1918; J. Dixon, 1924). In Nevada it was very rare even a gen- 

 eration ago (Hoffman, 1881), and we may well doubt whether it now occurs at all. I have been unable 

 to find any record of its occurrence either in Arizona or in New Mexico, and it is not known ever to 

 have nested in Colorado, though it occurs there rarely, and probably breeds (W. L. Sclater, 1912). 

 J. A. Allen (1872) found it quite common in autumn on Great Salt Lake, Utah, and it is still (1919) 

 said to be a rare breeder there (U.S. Biological Survey notes). In Idaho it was said to be common in 

 the north at Fort Sherman (J. C. Merrill, 1897), though according to Rust (1915) it is becoming rare 

 in Kootenay County. As might be expected it is very rare in Wyoming, though it possibly breeds 

 there (W. C. Knight, 1902; Grave and Walker, 1913). In Montana it has bred at Flathead Lake and 

 possibly in one or two other localities (A. A. Saunders, 1921). There is no evidence that it breeds in 

 the Glacier Park region, and most of the records for Montana, Idaho, and Nevada are unsatisfactory. 



In the next belt of States going eastward, the Carolina Duck is more common than in the mountain 

 region. It is probably not so very uncommon in North Dakota even now, at least in the eastern parts, 

 and it is said to have once bred at Grafton, Walsh County (U.S. Biological Survey records). Mc- 

 Chesney (1879) found it very rare on the Coteau des Prairies, South Dakota, but in this State it was 

 recorded as common in the southeast part (Agersborg, 1885). A recent writer (Visher, 1913) says 

 only a few now breed in Sanborn County. It was an abundant breeding bird in Minnesota as late as 

 the date of Hatch's book (1892), and is probably even now not uncommon there. In fact, Roberts 

 (1919) states that it is on the increase especially in northern Minnesota. In Iowa it is still found as a 

 breeding bird (R. M. Anderson, 1907), as also in eastern Nebraska (Bruner, Wolcott, and Swenk, 

 1905). So also it was common in Kansas in summer (Snow, 1875; Goss, 1891) and it bred there at 

 least as late as 1909 (Harris, 1919). Missouri and Arkansas form one of the chief summer refuges for 

 this duck. Widmann (1907) says it is still fairly common in Missouri, and Howell (1910) speaks of it 

 as a very common breeder in southeastern Missouri at the present time. In the Oklahoma " Okla- 

 homan " (September 25, 1921) Mr. Watt, the State Game Warden, announces that several pairs had 

 again nested in that State, and in Arkansas it is still common in the swamps of the east, where it 

 breeds (Howell, 1911). It was plentiful and still nests in some numbers in Louisiana (McHhenny, 

 1897; Beyer, Allison, and Kopman, 1907), as I myself can testify. 



It is resident in Texas, excepting possibly the extreme northwest and the extreme southeast. Ac- 

 cording to the U.S. Biological Survey notes, it is still common in the east and is found south to Houston 

 and San Antonio. Strecker (1912) speaks of it as a rare breeder and resident throughout the State. 

 Dresser (1866) found it fairly common and resident at San Antonio, where within another generation 

 it had become rare (Attwater, 1892). A few still breed about Kerrville (Lacey, 1911), and appar- 



