Birda of the Adirondack Region. 
C. H. Merriam. 
154. Anas boscas, Linn. Mallard.— A rare migrant. 
Bali, N. 0.0, 0*Oct, 1881, P. 234 
Notes,Shelter Island,N.Y. 
W. W. Worthington. 
me to be mounted, whic 
, a fine male Mallard was 
Xl/i***T »VMI --- *- - - 
brought me to be mounted, which was shot near Long 
Beach. 
O.&o. X. May.1885. p. VO. 
Capture of a Pair of Wild Hybrid Ducks (Mallard + Muscovy) on 
Long Island.—Mr. G. C. Morris, of Sag Harbor, New York, had at the 
annual exhibition of the New York Fanciers’ Club, held in New York 
City, February 3 to to, 1 S 86 , a pair of ‘strange Ducks’ which no one had 
been able to name. My attention was directed to them by Mr. Morris, 
who called upon me at the American Museum of Natural History in 
relation to them. From the clear account of them he was able to give 
me, I had no difficulty in deciding as to their character, and an examina¬ 
tion of the birds themselves the following day confirmed my identifica¬ 
tion of them. Unlike most previous examples that have been reported 
of this interesting cross, they showed no tendency to albinism, there 
being no abnormal white markings, but presented just the combination of 
features one would look for in a cross between a wild Mallard and a 
Muscovy unchanged by domestication. The birds, both male and female, 
were in perfect plumage, exceedingly beautiful, and presented in nearly 
equal degree the characteristics of the two species. 
I learn from Mr. Morris that the drake was first seen about September 1 , 
1884 , m Poxibogue Pond, in the village ofBridge Hampton, on Long Island 
in company with some domestic ducks owned by a Mr. Topping. This 
gentleman at first tried to shoot him, but he proved to be very wary and 
when approached would fly away toward the ocean, about two miles dis¬ 
tant. Several other persons saw him and tried unsuccessfully to capture 
him. He showed a liking for the pond, and finally came regularly every 
morning to feed with the tame ducks, returning to the ocean at night 
One day during a severe thunder squall the tame ducks left the pond and 
ran into their pen for shelter, the wild bird accompanying them. The 
owner closed the door and thus captured him. He simply clipped his 
wing-feathers and let him run with his flock. 
OfTf he dU ^’ 0 '~. k ™ ale h ^ brid ’ aIi S hted in Otter Pond, near the upper part 
of Mam Street in the village of Sag Harbor, early one morning in October, 
! 88 4 She accompanied some tame ducks on shore, and several men at¬ 
tempted to drive her with the others into a duck pen, but she took wing 
struck against a fence, fell back, and was captured before she could 
recover herself. Her wing was also clipped and she remained a captive 
Several persons who saw the strange birds thought they were of the 
same species; so the two were brought together. They mated, and the 
fema e laid two clutches of eggs and sat upon them, but they proved 
infertile. They were allowed their liberty, kept together, and associated 
w th a flock of tame ducks. They are no w owned, Mr. Morris informs me 
M a/ ; „ T e ’ ° f Whitestone ’ Lo "g Island. — -J. A. Allen, Am. 
Mus. Nat. Hist ., New Tork City. Auk, 3, April, 188Q. p. 
hybrid for record. “In the male hybrid between bosckas and obscura 
there is, on the whole, a fairly equal division of the characters of both 
parents; the crown, hind-neck, and nape are as in bosckas; the sides of 
the head, the throat, and neck resemble more those of obscura , but there 
is a wash of green on the first named region, and the chin is blackish. 
The lesser and median wing-coverts and tertials are similar to those of 
bosckas , while the speculum is that of obscura , with the terminal border 
of white more as in bosckas. The upper and lower tail-coverts resemble 
those of bosckas , but the tail differs very slightly from that of obscura. 
Below the ground work is nearly as in obscura , but there is a suffusion of 
chestnut over the entire breast.” 
Axik, April, 1889. p. t3*f 
;/r 
