164 Mr. A. Newton on the Harlequin Duck. 
I am inclined to believe that a good deal of misconception 
exists as to the geographical range of this species, which I think 
will be found to be much more limited than is usually supposed 
to be the case. To take two of the latest published authorities 
on the subject: Dr. Degland states (Orn. Europ. ii. 453) that 
it “ habite les contrees arctiques des deux mondesand Mr. 
Cassin, in Professor Baird’s most valuable work on North Ame¬ 
rican Ornithology, gives as its habitat (Pac. B. B. Beport, Birds, 
799), “Northern sea-coasts of northern hemisphere.” Now, I 
am pretty sure that in Europe, with the exception of Iceland 
and Western Asia, it only occurs as an accidental straggler. I 
believe I am authorized to say that, as far as Mr. Wolley’s expe¬ 
rience goes, it is not known as a bird of Lapland, including in the 
term the north of Norway and Einmark; and I can hardly under¬ 
stand its being, as M. Temminck states (Man. d’Orn. ii. 879), 
“ abondant dans les contrees orientales de l’Europe,” without 
its occasionally showing itself in the district which has been so 
assiduously worked by my friend; for I presume there can be no 
doubt that M. Temminck did not intend to refer to any but the 
northern part of Eastern Europe. In more southern Scandinavia 
it is certainly rare *, as appears by Prof. Nilsson’s statement 
(Skandin. Eaun. ii. 441). I cannot find that it is known in 
European Bussia, but it seems to occur accidentally on the Cas¬ 
pian and Sea of Aral. It is also said to be met with—like so 
many other, to us rare, birds—about Lake Baikal; and if the 
report be true, I think this must be taken, according to our 
present knowledge, as its normal western limit in Asia; for in 
the course of Dr. Middendorff’s travels, it appears (Sib. Beise, 
Zool. Bd. ii. Th. 2. p. 237) to have been found only in the 
extreme east of Siberia, the localities for it mentioned by him 
being the S’tanowoj Mountains, the southern coast of the Sea 
of Ochotsk, and the interior of Mandchouria. This enterprising 
traveller obtained a nestling bird on the 23rd of June at Uds’koj- 
Os’trog, of which a characteristic representation is given in his 
* The late Mr. Thompson (B. Ireland, iii. 152) mentions, on the author¬ 
ity of Captain May, the occurrence of four adult males in the month of 
July, on a lake close to the entrance of the Salten Fjord ; but as no speci¬ 
men was obtained, there might have been a mistake as to the species. 
