Rare Anatidae of Mass. [Massachusetts] and
1876.
Feb. 24 [February 24, 1876] The weather for the last few days has been
cold and winterish: no bird notes excepting the
occurrence of Mergulus alle at Lexington Mass. [Lexington, Massachusetts]
where one was picked up in an exhausted
state by a farmer on the 21st [February 21, 1876]. Had a
very interesting talk to day with Mr. Joyce of Plymouth
on the occurrence of different species of Anatidae
in N.E. [New England] Mr. Joyce being an old duck shooter,
an intelligent person and withal quite well
acquainted with birds, and moreover having
spent most of his shooting experience in Plym.
Co. [Plymouth County] the Co[delete]place Co[/delete]-par excellence for [delete]the[/delete] Mass [Massachusetts]
duck shooting, his opinion cannot but be
considered as both reliable and valuable. For
convenience I should arrange his statements in
regular order, in the question & answer form.
Quest. 1 [Question 1] Have you ever seen the wild swan (either species) in
N.E.  Ans. [Answer] "Never but once when I saw two at Newport
[delete]Mt[/delete] Vt [Newport, Vermont] on Lake Mem [Lake Memphremagog]. This was in Oct. 1860 [October 1860]".
Ques. 2. Have you ever seen or heard of any geese
except B. Canadensis [Branta canadensis] Answer. "No, & I am very sure that
none others ever occur."
Ques. 3. How often do you hear of the capture of the 
mallard (A. boschas) [Anas boschas] in Plymouth Co. [Plymouth County] Ans. They
occur but rarely now: perhaps half a dozen are
taken by myself & friends every season and
most of these are usually killed in Sept. [September]. Twenty
years ago they used to be common, nearly as
much so in fact as A, obscura [Anas obscura] but since that
time they have been gradually dying out here.
Ques. 3. Do you often get the shoveller [shoveler] or the
pintail. Answer. "Yes, both: they are neither
of them very uncommon but yet their numbers
bear no proportion to those of many other species."
Question 4. How about the gadwal [gadwall]. Ans. "I have