A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



small parties consisting of females and im- 

 mature birds on our river estuaries and leys. 

 Adult males occur singly and are much less 

 common. 



- In November 1893 a young male of un- 

 usually large size occurred on the Kingsbridge 

 estuary, which Mr. Elliot thinks must have 

 been either an immature Barrow's goldeneye 

 (C islandica) or one of the American form 

 of goldeneye, which is larger than our bird. 

 This specimen was unfortunately not pre- 

 served. 



[An example of the American buffel-headed 

 duck [C. albeola) is said to have been killed 

 on the West Mud near Devonport in the 

 winter of 1841, and was in the collection of 

 the late Rev. W. S. Hore, who obtained it 

 from Mr. Cornelius Tripe of Devonport, who 

 had other American birds in his collection, 

 and therefore a mistake may have been made. 

 Mr. Tripe thought the bird was a goldeneye, 

 and had no idea of its value if a British-killed 

 specimen.] 



179. Long-tailed Duck. Harelda glacialts 



(Linn.) 

 A winter visitor of occasional occurrence 

 on our bays and estuaries, chiefly on the south 

 coast of the county. It arrives in October, 

 and has been seen as late as March. Only a 

 few long-tailed ducks have been obtained at 

 Plymouth, but many have been killed on the 

 Kingsbridge and Exe estuaries, Slapton Ley 

 and Torbay. It is rare in north Devon. An 

 example in full summer plumage was killed 

 on the Exe in 1847. Adults in full winter 

 plumage are sometimes obtained, but im- 

 mature birds are most frequently met with. 

 Mr. E. A. S. Elliot has observed that the iris 

 of the eye in this duck undergoes a seasonal 

 change of colour, being pale straw-colour in 

 winter and hazel in summer. 



[It is very doubtful if the harlequin duck 

 (fiosmonetta histrionica) can be included amongst 

 the species that have occurred in Devonshire. 

 Dr. E. Moore says a female was shot off the 

 Hamoaze near Plymouth in the winter of 

 1830, but it was in all probability a long- 

 tailed duck, as were the two examples re- 

 corded in the Zoologist for 1847, as having 

 been killed in Torbay, and which proved to 

 be immature birds of that species.] 



180. Eider Duck. Somateria moU'mima 



(Linn.) 

 A casual winter visitor of rare occurrence. 

 About a dozen examples, mostly females and 

 immature birds, have been obtained in Ply- 

 mouth Sound, in Torbay and at the mouth 



of the Exe, The last killed in south Devon 

 was shot in the winter of 1875. Only two 

 specimens are recorded from north Devon ; 

 one of them was shot on the Taw in Decem- 

 ber 1891, and the other, a young male, on 

 the mudflats at Appledore in November 1893, 



1 8 1 . King Eider. Somateria spectabilis (Linn.) 

 The only occurrence of this duck in 



Devonshire rests upon the authority of the 

 late Mr. J, Gatcombe, who saw an immature 

 example in the flesh at a bird-stuffer's shop, 

 which was said to have been killed near Ply- 

 mouth. 



182. Common Scoter. (Edemia nigra (Linn.) 

 Locally, Black Duck. 



Principally a winter visitor, large flocks 

 arriving on our south coast in August and 

 September, remaining till April. It is not so 

 numerous on the north coast. Scoters usually 

 keep well out to sea, and rarely ascend the 

 estuaries, and only through stress of weather. 

 Some, probably non-breeding birds, remain all 

 the summer on the south coast, which fact 

 seems to have led Dr. Moore to suspect that 

 some might breed in Devonshire. 



183, Velvet Scoter, CEdemia fiisca {Lmn.) 

 A casual winter visitor, not often obtained, 



because it seldom approaches the shore, being 

 exclusively a sea-duck and keeping far out in 

 the channels. Examples have occurred in 

 Plymouth Sound, the Kingsbridge estuary, 

 Torbay, at the mouth of the Exe and in 

 Barnstaple Bay. 



1 84. Surf Scoter. (Edemia perspicillata (Linn.) 

 This American duck has occurred three 



times on our south coast. An immature 

 bird was shot in Torbay in i860, one on 

 Slapton Ley in or about 1862, and an im- 

 mature male near Kingsbridge 20 October 

 1891. 



185, Goosander, Mergus merganser ^ Linn. 

 A winter visitor of occasional occurrence 



(up to 1 891), either singly or in small parties, 

 on the bays, leys and estuaries of the south 

 coast, and rarely on the north coast. The 

 examples that have been met with were 

 mostly immature birds or else females, adult 

 males in full plumage being rare, 



186, Red-breasted Merganser. Mergus ser- 



rator, Linn. 



Locally, Spike-billed Wigeon (on the Taw), 

 Saw-bill (on the Exe). 

 A winter visitor of rather frequent occur- 

 rence on the coasts, and in the river estuaries, 

 appearing sometimes in October, and has been 



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