BIRDS 



It was shot out of a flock by a local gunner 

 on an arm of the Kingsbridge estuary. Only 

 two other instances of its occurrence in the 

 British Islands are known. 



[The North American summer duck [Aix 

 sponsa), often kept on ponds, has been killed at 

 Plymouth and at Slapton Ley.] 



171. Garganey, ^erquedula circia (Linn.) 

 Locally, Summer Teal. 



This beautiful little duck is now very rare 

 indeed in Devonshire, and no occurrences 

 within the last twenty years have been 

 recorded. The spring of 1870 was remark- 

 able for the number of examples shot. It has 

 been obtained at Plymouth, Modbury, Kings- 

 bridge, Newton Abbot, Topsham and Barn- 

 staple. The garganey usually occurred in 

 pairs in the months of March and April, but 

 on 17 April 1875 a flock of eight was seen 

 at Strode near Modbury, and a pair was shot. 



172. Wigeon. Mareca pmelope (Linn.) 

 Locally, Yellow-poll. 



A regular winter visitor, though greatly 

 reduced in numbers, and few are now seen in 

 some parts of the county where formerly it 

 was the most abundant species of wild duck. 

 It still continues to be fairly plentiful in the 

 extreme southern portion of Devon, its great 

 places of resort being Slapton and Thurlestone 

 Leys, where sometimes thousands are seen in 

 winter. The wigeon frequently arrives in 

 September, and has been shot as early as 

 6 August (18 71) on Slapton Ley, where a 

 few pairs sometimes remain all the summer. 

 Although it has not yet been actually proved 

 that the wigeon nests on the shores of that 

 most interesting sheet of fresh water, there 

 seems great probability that it does do so in 

 small numbers. No place could be better 

 adapted to its requirements as a breeding 

 station. * Flight shooting ' by moonlight is 

 not so much pursued by gunners as formerly, 

 as places that were once favourable for it 

 are now too much frequented and disturbed 

 to allow of much sport being obtained. 



173. Red-crested Pochard, Netta rufina 



(Pallas) 

 The only instance of the occurrence of this 

 rare species of duck in Devonshire was in 

 December 1867, when a fine adult drake 

 was shot on Braunton Burrows. It was 

 purchased by the late Mr. Marsh-Dunn of 

 Teignmouth for his collection. 



174. Pochard. Fuligu/a ferina (Linn.) 

 Locally, Frosty-back (male), Dun Curre, Cur 



Wigeon (female and young). 

 A winter visitor, most numerous in severe 



seasons. It is most frequently met with at 

 Slapton Ley, where a few pairs remain during 

 the breeding season, and most probably nest. 

 Elsewhere in Devon it is by no means a 

 common species. It has occurred occasion- 

 ally near Barnstaple, at Plymouth, rarely on 

 the Kingsbridge estuary, in Torbay, and 

 sometimes on the Exe estuary, where a small 

 party of adult males and females appeared in 

 January 1900. These birds were very tame 

 and most of them were shot. 



175. Ferruginous Duck. Fuligula nyroca 



(Guldenstadt) 

 An accidental visitor of very rare occur- 

 rence. An immature bird is recorded by Dr. 

 E. Moore from Plymouth. A female was shot 

 on Slapton Ley about the middle of November 

 1874, and another example occurred there 

 8 November 1897, being shot out of a small 

 flock of ducks that were not identified. 



176. Tufted Duck. Fuligula cristata (Leach) 

 Locally, Black Wigeon, Pied Wigeon. 



A winter visitor, arriving in October and 

 not uncommon in some seasons on our larger 

 rivers. It is especially numerous on Slapton 

 and Torcross Leys, where some often remain 

 all the year and very probably breed. Im- 

 mense numbers of tufted ducks appeared in 

 the winter of 1894—5 on these leys. A 

 brood of very young birds was seen at the 

 end of July, 1859, by the Rev. M. A. 

 Mathew on the Barnstaple river, which he 

 thought might have been reared somewhere 

 close at hand. 



177. Scaup-Duck. Fuligula marila (Linn.) 

 Locally, Blue-bill. 



A winter visitor, generally arriving in 

 October. The scaup is one of the most 

 numerous of the wild fowl visiting Devon. 

 As a rule the large flocks keep out at sea, 

 some miles from the shore, but after heavy 

 gales in autumn small parties ascend the es- 

 tuaries of some of the rivers, and, being then 

 very tame, are easily approached and shot. 

 One was killed on the Exe 11 August 1876, 

 and Mr. Elliot met with some scaups on the 

 Kingsbridge estuary in June 1899. This 

 duck sometimes visits Slapton Ley in severe 

 winters. There is a variety of the female 

 scaup in the Albert Memorial Museum at 

 Exeter which has a white collar round the 

 neck. It was shot on the Exe in 1847. 



178. Goldeneye. Clangula glaucion (Linn.) 

 Locally, Diving Wigeon, Cur Wigeon (female 



and young). 

 A common winter visitor, generally seen in 



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