Blue-winged Teal
Spatula discors Linnaeus, 1766 (10, 3)
Photo © Rob Smallwood - Threave Estate, Dumfries & Galloway, November 2010
STATUS
Nearctic. Monotypic.
OVERVIEW
BOU (1971) stated 'Two 1858 to about 1860, five 1910-40, with the remainder from 1949 to 1968.'
RECORDS
1). 1858 Dumfries & Galloway Upper Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire, female, shot, undated, now at National Museums of Scotland (NMSZ 1887.48).
("W.G.G." Morris and Bree's Naturalist 1858: 168; Gray, 1871; BOU, 1883; Saunders, 1899; Gladstone, 1910; H. F. Witherby, British Birds 5: 257; BOU, 1915; Witherby, 1920-24; Gladstone, 1923).
History "W.G.G." (1858) in Morris and Bree's edition of The Naturalist, Vol. VIII. p. 168, under 'Birds shot in Dumfries district', dated 8th February, 1858, says: '28th [January, 1858]. Blue-winged Shovel-bill (Rhynchaspis clypeata), female.'
Gray (1871: 373-374) says: 'A specimen of this North American Teal was shot by the late Mr. Shaw, of Drumlanrig, on the Nith, in Dumfriesshire, in January, 1863. Sir William Jardine, in whose collection the bird is now preserved, informs me that he happened to be at Drumlanrig, and called to see Mr. Shaw, shortly before his death, when he was told by him that he had shot the Duck and sent it to William Hastings, birdstuffer, Dumfries. On returning home, writes Sir William, "I went to William Hastings, and got the bird from him, and it is now before me. I believe this to be the first occurrence of the species in any part of Europe".'
Admitted nationally in their first List of British Birds (BOU 1883).
Saunders (1899: 434, 2nd ed.) says: 'In The Naturalist, VIII. (1858), p. 168, Mr. W. G. Gibson, writing from Dumfries, without naming any month, says: "a specimen of the Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) was shot here a few weeks ago". This bird, erroneously stated by the late Mr. R. Gray to have been killed in January, 1863, afterwards passed into the collection of the late Sir William Jardine, and was subsequently acquired by the Edinburgh Museum; it is a male and undoubtedly genuine.'
Gladstone (1910: 276-278) says: 'Only two records of the occurrence in Europe of the American Blue-winged Teal are mentioned by Howard Saunders in his Manual of British Birds (1899); one, an adult male shot near Saby, in Denmark, about the middle of April, 1886, and the other obtained in Dumfriesshire in 1858. Another example has since been recorded as having been obtained in Cheshire. It was shot about the middle of the last century on the Dee Estuary, and is considered by Messrs. Coward and Oldham to have been a genuine visitor from America.
Howard Saunders thus refers to the Dumfriesshire specimen: "In the Naturalist, VIII. (1858), p. 168, Mr. W. G. Gibson, writing from Dumfries, without naming any month, says: "a specimen of the Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) was shot here a few weeks ago". This bird, erroneously stated by the late Robert Gray to have been killed in January, 1863, afterwards passed into the collection of the late Sir William Jardine, and was subsequently acquired by the Edinburgh Museum; it is a male and undoubtedly genuine. It may be well here to quote Robert Gray's reference in extenso: "A specimen of this North American Teal was shot by the late Mr. Shaw, of Drumlanrig, on the Nith, in Dumfriesshire, in January, 1863. Sir William Jardine, in whose collection the bird is now preserved, informs me that he happened to be at Drumlanrig, and called to see Mr. Shaw, shortly before his death, when he was told by him that he had shot the Duck and sent it to William Hastings, birdstuffer, Dumfries".
On returning home, writes Sir William, "I went to William Hastings, and got the bird from him, and it is now before me. I believe this to be the first occurrence of the species in any part of Europe".
The date, 1863, is unquestionably erroneous, for W. G. Gibson's record was published in the June number of the Naturalist, 1858; and from the context it might be argued that the specimen was obtained in May of that year. The bird, as stated above, was stuffed by William Hastings, who subsequently parted with it to Sir William Jardine. Thence it passed into the Edinburgh Museum, and later into the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, where it may now be seen; and to the kindness of the authorities of this museum I am indebted for the photograph (reproduced in the accompanying plate) of this famous specimen.
Local inquiries at this late date (1909) have failed to add any important details to its history. Mr. J. Reid tells me that he distinctly remembers seeing the bird in a recently stuffed state in Hastings' shop in 1858, and that he personally satisfied himself as to its identification by reference at the time to the description of the species in Wilson's American Ornithology. He cannot now remember any story regarding the specimen; but Mr. R. Service has a distinct recollection of being told by Hastings that it was sent to him by John Shaw, the head-gamekeeper at Drumlanrig, with a note saying it was a Blue-winged Teal, which he had shot as it rose from a burn flowing into the Nith at a spot with which Hastings was well acquainted, as he had in former years been an under-gardener at Drumlanrig.
The authenticity of this occurrence has been so generally accepted, that it seems almost unfair at this late date to bring forward anything which might cast any doubt upon it; but it must be remarked that in none of his writings, published or unpublished, does Sir William Jardine (as far as I know) refer to it, except in the letter to Robert Gray above quoted. This seems a remarkable omission, although it would certainly seem equally strange that Sir William Jardine did not publish a criticism of the record, supposing he had afterwards discovered that it was not genuine.
I have seen the correspondence on the subject which passed between Mr. R. Service and Howard Saunders early in 1885, and it seems to me only fair to note that in one of his letters Mr. Service points out that in 1858 Shaw introduced Virginian Quail at Drumlanrig, and he asks: "Did A. discors make the journey along with the Bob-whites?"
Mr. Service had, however, no proof that this was the case, and at the time of this correspondence Shaw and Jardine were both dead, Hastings was too old to be reliable; and, it is stated, W. G. Gibson was no naturalist! Probably Howard Saunders had good reasons for ignoring Mr. Service's question, and for so strongly affirming the genuineness of the specimen. (R. Service, in litt. to Howard Saunders, February 23rd, 1885 and February 18th, 1885).
The allegations that this species has occurred in Yorkshire and in Cambridgeshire have been rejected after full inquiry; and as regards the Danish specimen, Herr Herluf Winge most courteously writes me from Copenhagen: "To-day (January 22nd, 1909) I have again examined our stuffed specimen of Anas querquedula discors) from Saby, April, 1886.
As stated by my late brother, the left foot is a little deformed, the inner toe being swollen and contorted, and the hind-toe without a claw; otherwise the specimen is in quite perfect condition. Damage such as this is frequently to be seen in frost-bitten birds in our Zoological Garden, but it may also occur in wild birds.
Certainly I have included the species in my list of Danish birds...but I confess that I have been somewhat influenced by the Ibis list and other publications taking the recorded European specimens for valid, and I admit that a doubt always will cling about the Danish record.'
Gladstone (1923: 84) says: 'The specimen, now in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, and which is recognised as the bird obtained locally in 1858, is not a male as has been generally accepted, but a female.
The illustration in my book is sufficient evidence of this, and Dr Eagle Clark has also carefully examined the bird at my request.'
H. F. Witherby (1912) in British Birds, Vol. V. p. 257, in a review of 'Addenda and Corrigenda to the Birds of Dumfriesshire', by Hugh S. Gladstone (Dumfriesshire and Galloway Nat. Hist. Soc.), says: 'The American Blue-winged Teal, shot at Upper Nithsdale in 1858 and now in the Royal Scottish Museum, is a female and not a male, as has been generally accepted.'
Admitted nationally in their second List of British Birds (BOU 1915).
Comment Confliction with the date it was killed.
2). c. 1860 Cheshire & Wirral Dee Estuary, female, obtained, undated.
(W. H. Dobie, Proceedings of the Chester Society of Science, 1899-1900; Coward, 1910; F. C. R. Jourdain, British Birds 4: 61; "J.E.H." Field 1st Apr., 1922: 431; Witherby et al., 1940-52; Hardy, 1941; Hedley Bell, 1962; S. Barber, Cheshire & Wirral Bird Report 1992: 22).
History W. H. Dobie (1899) in the Proceedings of the Chester Society of Science, says: 'This duck was shot by J. Kemp on the Dee Marshes about 1860 and identified by him. It was not believed to be kept in captivity at that period.'
Coward (1910: 332-333) says: 'There is, in the possession of Mr. C. T. Kemp of Burton, a "female Blue-winged Teal, which was shot by his father, the late James Kemp, on the Dee Estuary about fifty years ago".
The bird was identified by Dr. W. H. Dobie, who points out that "the blue is quite a different colour from the blue-grey on the wing of the Garganey, and the alar speculum is shot with green".
This American species is not likely to have been kept in captivity in the middle of the last century, and there is every reason to suppose that the Burton bird was an accidental visitor from the American continent.'
F. C. R. Jourdain (1910) in British Birds, Vol. IV. p. 61, in a review of Coward & Oldham (1910), says: 'Perhaps the most interesting of these are the occurrence of...and that of the American Blue-winged Teal, Querquedula discors (L.), about fifty years ago, a time when it is extremely improbable that this bird was kept in confinement in this country.'
J. E. Harting (1922) in The Field of 1st April, Vol. CXXXIX. p. 431, says: '...The existence of an older specimen was not made known for another ten years [after the 1889 Cambridgeshire record]. Messrs. Coward and Oldham, in their Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire, 1910 (p. 332), refer to a female Blue-winged Teal in the possession of Mr. C. J. Kemp, of Burton, which was shot by his father on the Dee Estuary about 1860. It was identified many years later by Dr. Dobie, of Chester, and mentioned by him in a report of the Chester Soc. of Nat. Sci., 1899-1900.
He observed that "the blue is quite a different colour from the blue-grey on the wing of the Garganey, and the alar speculum is shot with green".
The above-named authors had reason to suppose that the bird in question was an accidental visitor from the American Continent.'
Admitted nationally (Witherby et al. 1940-52) and accepted locally (Hedley Bell 1962; S. Barber, Cheshire & Wirral Bird Report 1992: 22).
3). 1919 Anglesey Pentre Berw, male, shot, early in the year.
(L. R. A. Gatehouse, British Birds 13: 85; Witherby et al., 1940-52; Lovegrove, Williams & Williams, 1994; Jones & Whalley, 2004).
History L. R. A. Gatehouse (1919) in British Birds, Vol. XIII. p. 85, says: 'At the end of last season (1919) near Holland Arms, Anglesey I shot a male American Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors). The bird rose from a marsh near some pools.
At the time, there were several flocks of Common Teal (Anas c. crecca) on and around these pools. During the winter these pools are frequented by large numbers of wildfowl, mostly Mallard, Teal and Wigeon, which come from an estuary about four miles away.
There is no private water anywhere in the county, as far as I know, where fancy waterfowl are kept, and during the course of nearly twenty years regular shooting here I have never yet come across any semi-tame or very unusual waterfowl. I have kept the skin.'
[Mr. T. A. Coward, who has seen the skin, remarks upon the prismatic colour of the speculum. When viewed at various angles it was black, showing but little gloss, metallic reddish bronze or brilliant metallic green. The crescentic white patch in front of the eye was slightly flecked with dark grey. There was nothing in the condition of the plumage or feet to lead one to suppose that it had been in captivity.]
Admitted nationally (Witherby et al. 1940-52) and accepted as the first for Wales (Lovegrove, Williams & Williams 1994) and locally (Jones & Whalley 2004) who add that a male was shot at Pentre Berw early in 1919.
4). 1922 Sussex Worth, shot, 17th January.
("J.E.H." Field 1st Apr., 1922: 431; C. S. Smyth, Field 22nd Apr., 1922: 547; McLean & Wormald, Field 6th May 1922: 622; Sproat & Co., Field 6th May 1922: 622; Walpole-Bond, 1938; Witherby et al., 1940-52; Shrubb, 1979; James, 1996).
History "J.E.H." (1922) in The Field of 1st Apr., Vol. CXXXIX. p. 431, says: 'Since Dr Dobie's report of 1899 nothing has been heard of the Blue-winged Teal in this country until the present year. The list may now be swelled by the addition of one which was shot near Worth, Sussex, on Jan. 17. The shooter, Mr. H. H. Miller, of South Hill, Worth, has been good enough to send the following particulars concerning it.
He writes: "During the snow on Jan. 17 my wife and I were duck shooting at flight time at a pond in East Sussex. It was a dark night, and as the ice was too thin for my dogs, we had to leave several birds for the keeper to pick up in the morning. When he brought them I found one to be a Red-headed Smew, and another appeared to be a specimen of the American Blue-winged Teal. I fear that, if it is, it may have escaped from some private water, and I regret having shot it. But, of course, it is impossible to distinguish the species easily at flight-time. I send you a coloured sketch of the bird for identification".
The excellent sketch received and here reproduced leaves no room for doubt that the bird has been correctly identified as a Blue-winged Teal.
As so many foreign waterfowl are annually imported for parks and ornamental waters, it is impossible to decide whether the solitary examples occasionally found at large are truly wild, or escaped birds. In this case it can only be said that we know of no ornamental water where there are any Blue-winged Teal at present, and referring to the price lists of dealers in live birds it does not appear that any teal of this species are offered for sale.'
Charles Stuart Smyth of the Junior Athenaeum Club (1922) in The Field of 22nd Apr., Vol. CXXXIX. p. 547, says: 'I send you a wing, which I received on April 1, saved for me by the salesman in one of the shops in High Street, Marylebone. He had received three similar birds about a fortnight previously, and had hoped that I would call; unfortunately, I did not, and therefore never saw them.
He described them as larger than teal, and thought them a cross between some duck and teal. This, I told him, was unlikely, as he had three birds all alike. Are hybrid teal rare, and is this a wing of the Blue-winged Teal which I have since seen noticed in your issue of April 1. I have told the man that I will give him your answer, and he looks forward to it.
They seem to have been shot in England, their plumage being not very much ruffled, and they were fresh - three or four days since killed, I should say. He agreed, and said they were not foreign birds - that is to say, not received from abroad.'
[The wing forwarded is undoubtedly that of a Blue-winged Teal (Querquedula discors), and it is remarkable that three birds of this species should have been received by a London dealer so soon after one had been shot in Sussex, as reported in our issue of April 1.
It seems possible that a small flock may have reached this country unaided by man, seeing that several American ducks and geese of other species, as well as plovers and sandpipers, have been shot here at intervals on various occasions. It would be of much interest to discover, if possible, from what part of the country the three birds above mentioned were received, and even if purchased in the London market, the salesman there might be able to give information respecting them. - Ed.]
McLean and Wormald of East Dereham (1922) in The Field of 6th May, Vol. CXXXIX. p. 622, says: 'In his interesting article on this species, a specimen of which was shot by Mr. Miller near Worth, Sussex, in January last, Mr. Harting states that so far as he is aware there are no Blue-winged Teal at present in this country.
In the spring of 1914 we had over twenty of this species (all being duly pinioned), but since the breaking up of our collection on the outbreak of war we have not been able to obtain other examples until quite recently, when Mr. W. H. St. Quintin kindly deposited a female of this species with us, which for the past two seasons had paired with a drake Cinnamon Teal, and reared hybrid broods at Scampston Hall, Yorkshire.'
Sproat & Co., of Smithfield (1922) in The Field of 6th May, Vol. CXXXIX. p. 622, say: 'The teal referred to by Mr. Charles Stuart Smyth in last week's issue came from Holland, and are known as 'Garganey teal'.
They are bigger than English specimens of the Garganey and much handsomer. We had a few dozens of them, and they attracted attention wherever they were sent. The majority we sent to various towns such as Reading and Llandudno and elsewhere.'
Accepted locally (Walpole-Bond 1938 (3): 1; des Forges & Harber 1963; James 1996).
Witherby et al. (1952 (3): 386) says: 'One shot Worth (Sussex), January 17th, 1922, possibly escaped from captivity.'
Comment J. E. Harting had obviously not seen British Birds in 1919 when the Anglesey record was recorded as that was the third acceptable record for Britain.
5). 1927 Outer Hebrides Benbecula, female, shot, 10th November.
(H. E. David, British Birds 21: 284-285; Eds., Scottish Naturalist 63: 192; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History H. E. David (1928) in British Birds, Vol. XXI. pp. 284-285, says: 'Shooting on November 10th, 1927, on Benbecula, a single duck "came over" during the driving of a loch which proved to be a female Garganey (Anas querquedula).
The bird, which was in good condition, was sent to Mr. F. Sergent, of Oban, for preservation. It would be interesting to know if a Garganey has ever been seen before in the Outer Hebrides at this time of the year, as surely it must be most unusual for this species of duck to be so far north in November.'
[So far as we know the Garganey has not been recorded as having occurred in the Outer Hebrides at any time. - Eds.]
V. C. Wynne-Edwards & James W. Campbell, Editors (1951) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LXIII. p. 192, say: 'Mr. Bird is of the opinion that the duck shot in Benbecula on 10th November 1927, and recorded as a Garganey (British Birds 21: 284-285), was also a Blue-winged Teal.
This bird was stuffed and presented to the late Andrew Mackinnon, who was then keeper in Benbecula. The mounted specimen, a female, was seen the next year by Mr. Bird who writes - "while I am quite satisfied as to the correctness of my identification of this bird, if it is a question of challenging an official record I had better say that this was purely my own personal diagnosis, but I remember quite distinctly the very characteristic bluish tinge in the wings, quite distinct to my mind from the grey of the Garganey".'
[While in Benbecula in May 1951 we tried to see this specimen, but were informed by Mr. Donald Mackinnon, son of the late Andrew Mackinnon, that the case, which had been damaged some years ago, had been sent away for repair, and the bird had apparently been lost or damaged, and was no longer in existence. Eds.]
Accepted nationally for Scotland (Forrester & Andrews et al. 2007).
6). 1938 Hertfordshire Woodhall Park, female, shot, 26th January, now at Letchworth Museum (Acc. No. 7706).
(B. L. Sage, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 73: 40; J. S. Carter, Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society & Field Club Report 1953; I. C. T. Nisbet, British Birds 49: 415; Sage, 1959; James & Sawford, 1983; Gladwin & Sage, 1986).
History Bryan L. Sage (1953) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. LXXIII. p. 40, says: 'In view of the rarity of this species in the British Isles I consider it advisable to place on record the results of my investigations into an old record of the species in Hertfordshire.
The specimen in question was shot at Woodhall Park, near Hertford, on 26th January, 1938, by Capt. R. Dalrymple.
It later passed into the collection at the Letchworth Museum, Herts., where it is now on show. The Museum Accession Number of this exhibit is 7706.
This specimen seems to have escaped notice in the literature until 1943 when the late W. P. Westell gave brief details of it in an article on 'Rare Herts. Birds in the Letchworth Museum' (Journal of the Letchworth & Dist. Nat. Hist. & Antiq. Soc. No. 3 (1943) p. 25). It was not mentioned in the 'List of Hertfordshire Vertebrates' (Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol. XXII. pp. 165-227) published in 1947.
Immediately this record was brought to my notice I instituted rather belated enquiries in order to ascertain as far as possible whether or not there was any possibility of the bird having been an escape.
The Superintendent of the Whipsnade Zoo informs me that no birds of this species have ever been kept there. In addition His Grace the Duke of Bedford in a recent letter tells me that it is highly improbable that the bird came from Woburn Park, as all Blue-winged Teal that have been kept there have been pinioned and never reared any young. Considering the facts as they are at present I see no reason why this record should not be accepted.
I therefore place this on record as the first occurrence of the Blue-winged Teal in Hertfordshire.'
Sage (1959: 40) placing the record in square brackets, says: 'A female of this species was shot by Captain R. Dalrymple on 26 January 1938 at Woodhall Park.
The full details were not published until 1953 by Sage in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Blue-winged Teals were rare in private collections at the time this bird was shot, and enquiries made in likely places in 1953, such as Woburn Park and Whipsnade Zoo, revealed that the Zoo had never kept any and the Park had only pinioned birds.
The date fits in with a genuine wild bird, but after such a lapse of time, it is impossible to establish the authenticity.'
Locally, T. J. James & B. R. Sawford (1983: 32) say: '...specimen cannot now be traced', while Gladwin & Sage (1986) add: 'In the light of present knowledge it seems likely that this was in fact a genuine wild bird.'
7). 1940 Outer Hebrides Loch Bailfinlay, Benbecula, pair, one shot, 6th September, now at Natural History Museum, Tring (BMNH 1953.76.20).
(Eds., Scottish Naturalist 63: 192; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953; Cunningham, 1983; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History V. C. Wynne-Edwards & James W. Campbell, Editors (1951) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LXIII. p. 192, say: 'Mr. Edward Bird, to whom we wrote at Mr. Macdonald's suggestion, informs us that he has a specimen, which he shot himself, from a pair in Benbecula on 6th September 1940.
Mr. Bird is of the opinion that the duck shot in Benbecula on 10th November 1927, and recorded as a Garganey (British Birds, 21: 284-285), was also a Blue-winged Teal.
This bird was stuffed and presented to the late Andrew Mackinnon, who was then keeper in Benbecula. The mounted specimen, a female, was seen the next year by Mr. Bird who writes - "while I am quite satisfied as to the correctness of my identification of this bird, if it is a question of challenging an official record I had better say that this was purely my own personal diagnosis, but I still remember quite distinctly the very characteristic bluish tinge in the wings, quite distinct to my mind from the grey of the Garganey".
While in Benbecula in May 1951 we tried to see this specimen, but were informed by Mr. Donald Mackinnon, son of the late Andrew Mackinnon, that the case, which had been damaged some years ago, had been sent away for repair, and the bird had apparently been lost or damaged, and was no longer in existence.
In addition to this bird there is only one other record of the Garganey in the Outer Hebrides, a pair having been seen in South Uist on 3rd June 1950 by Messrs. F. Hamilton, R. J. W. Smith and C. Walker (Scot. Nat., 62: 183).
Mr. Hamilton informed us recently in conversation that he was quite satisfied that the identification of this pair was correct. Before his visit to the Outer Isles he had had breeding Garganey under observation in another area, and his view of the Uist birds was an excellent one.
It is worth noting here that a pair of Blue-winged Teal is included in the 1886 list of ornamental wildfowl on the loch at Rodel, Harris (A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides, p. lix).' - Eds.
Accepted nationally for Scotland (Baxter & Rintoul 1953; Forrester & Andrews et al. 2007) and locally (Cunningham 1983).
9). 1947 Lincolnshire Near Lincoln, male, seen, 22nd April.
(R. M. Garnett, British Birds 40: 281; Smith & Cornwallis, 1955; Lorand & Atkin, 1989).
History Ronald M. Garnett (1947) in British Birds, Vol. XL. p. 281, says: 'On April 22nd, 1947, I paid a short visit to a fen near Lincoln and found there in a party of swans, ducks, and waders, a drake Blue-winged Teal Anas discors. Its most noticeable characters were the white crescentic patch between bill and eye, black under tail-coverts bordered white in front as in Wigeon drake, vermiculated flanks, and, on the wing, blue shoulder patches. It was about equal in size to a pair of Garganey in the same party.
Replies to enquiries made in various well-informed quarters regarding the possibility that the bird was an 'escape' suggest that this species may be breeding in a feral state in Lincolnshire, but that a chance crossing of the Atlantic should not be entirely ruled out.'
Accepted locally (Smith & Cornwallis 1955; Lorand & Atkin 1989).
10). 1948 Northumberland Holywell Pond, male, seen, 17th April.
(G. W. Temperley, British Birds 41: 350; G. W. Temperley, Naturalist 74: 123; Galloway & Meek, 1978-83; Kerr, 2001).
History G. W. Temperley (1948) in British Birds, Vol. XLI. p. 350, says: 'On April 17th, 1948, Mr. J. R. Crawford of Sunderland saw a drake Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) on a reed-fringed pond in a field about a mile and a half from the coast in south-east Northumberland.
It was in company with six Shoveler, several Tufted Duck, a pair of Pochard and a pair of Garganey, which for some time had been making this pond their headquarters. He saw the bird with glasses under very favourable conditions and the pencil sketches and notes on colouring that he made on the spot leave no doubt that the bird was correctly identified. He says of it that it flew quickly at alarm and would allow no near approach, keeping strictly in the company of the Shovelers.
The pond was visited by Mr. Crawford and other observers on several subsequent occasions, as were other similar ponds in the neighbourhood, but the bird was not seen again.
The occurrence is of interest following the suggestion that Blue-winged Teal may be breeding in a feral state in Lincolnshire (antea, p. 122).'
G. W. Temperley (1949) in the new series of The Naturalist, Vol. LXXIV. pp. 123-124, under 'Annual Northumbrian Report for 1948', says: 'On April 17th J.R.C. saw a drake of this species on a reedy pond about 1½ miles from the coast in S.E. Northumberland. It was in company with six Shoveler, several Tufted Duck, a pair of Pochard and a pair of Garganey.
Pencil sketches and notes made on the spot leave no doubt that the bird was correctly identified. The pond was visited later (by J.R.C., G.C.V., M.G.R. and G.W.T.) but the bird was not seen again.'
Accepted locally (Galloway & Meek 1978; Kerr 2001).
1950-57 RECORDS
11). 1950 Outer Hebrides South Uist, pair, shot, 18th October, female now at Natural History Museum, Tring (BMNH 1950.62.1).
(J. D. Macdonald, Scottish Naturalist 63: 191-193; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History J. D. Macdonald (1951) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. LXIII. pp. 191-193, says: 'One hears from time to time of American Blue-winged teal Anas discors occurring on the west coast of Scotland, but few are put on record. It is a matter of interest that they should be. One such occurrence came to notice recently when a specimen arrived at the Natural History Museum, London, through the kindness of Mr. Preston-Donaldson, of the RSPB, and Major Tufton Beamish, M.P.
Major Beamish was shooting in South Uist, Outer Hebrides, on 18th October 1950, when he flushed two duck which he recognised by their flight were not Common Teal. The next gun to him, Mr. Charles Cameron of Lochiel, shot them both with a right and left. One specimen, a female, was brought to London where it is now preserved; the other, probably a young bird, according to Major Beamish, was disposed of in the normal way.
It is, of course, impossible to state categorically that these particular birds were born and bred in North America. Several alternative explanations can be considered; they may have been escapes from ornamental waters, or the progeny of escapes, or they may have been the progeny of a pair which occurred naturally at an earlier date and which had bred.'
[We are indebted to Major Finlay Mackenzie, Loch Boisdale, for the first report of the shooting of the Blue-winged Teal. - Eds.]
Accepted nationally for Scotland (Forrester & Andrews et al. 2007).
13). 1956 Gloucestershire Slimbridge, adult male, 24th to 28th December, when caught, A. d. orphna.
(P. J. Chadwick, B. King, H. H. Davis, R. H. Poulding & M. A. Wright, Bristol Bird Report 1956: 191; M. Davy, British Birds 50: 349-350; Swaine, 1982).
History P. J. Chadwick, B. King, H. H. Davis, R. H. Poulding & M. A. Wright (1956) in the Bristol Bird Report, p. 191, say: 'An adult male, evidently a wild bird, visited the W.T. enclosures, Slimbridge, Dec. 24, and was first seen flying in from the estuary with a party of four Shovelers (M.D.). Still present on successive days, being finally caught (29th) and feather-cut. Subsequent enquiries by S.T.J. have shown that no Blue-winged Teal had escaped from captivity and that the species is not being kept in any Continental collection. This record will be the subject of a note in a forthcoming issue of British Birds.'
M. Davy (1957) in British Birds, Vol. L. pp. 349-350, says: 'On 24th December 1956, whilst feeding the collection at the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, I saw an adult male Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) over one of the enclosures. It was flying with some Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) and settled with them on one of the ponds in the grounds.
Within five minutes it was feeding on the grain with the rest of the birds and did not show the slightest indication of fear, whilst being watched at fifteen yards range. It was so tame that it was possible to see its plumage very clearly. The white crescent-shaped patch on the face was very distinctive and extended up and over the eyes, meeting at the back of the neck. The whole of its plumage was slightly brighter than that of any of the Blue-winged Teal in the collection and in size it was a larger bird than any of these. It was seen on several occasions and finally on 28th December it was caught in a trap. Since then, it has been living with the collection specimens and has paired up with one of the ducks.
If this bird has not escaped from captivity, and so far there is no evidence that it has, then it is the eleventh record of this North American species for the British Isles and the first for Gloucestershire.'
[Inquiries of the principal keepers of wildfowl in Britain and Europe have failed to yield any information about 'escapes': there seem to be very few birds of this species in captivity in Europe and none have bred recently except at Slimbridge, where all the birds reared have been pinioned.
R. E. Stewart and J. W. Aldrich (Proc. Biol. Soc. of Washington, 1956, Vol. LXIX. pp. 29-36) have recently distinguished two populations of Anas discors, the typical race breeding in the prairies of North America and another, named by them A. d. orphna, breeding in salt or brackish tidal marshes along the Atlantic seaboard from north-eastern North Carolina to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Males of A. d. orphna are distinguished from the typical race by being darker, with black areas on the feathers more intensely black and other colours more pronounced. They seem also to be larger on the average.
While it is not possible to determine the race to which the living Gloucestershire bird belongs, without comparison with adequate series of skins, comparison of the bird with two other live males in the Slimbridge collection seems to show that this wild individual differs from them and agrees closely in appearance with the description of the Atlantic race.
The appearance of the white face patch, though distinctive, is apparently of no taxonomic value, since "the extension of white on the head above the eye and to the nape of the neck has no geographic significance" (Stewart and Aldrich, loc. cit.). H. Boyd.]
Accepted locally (Swaine 1982).
NOT PROVEN
0). 1837 Sussex Dell Quay, Chichester Harbour, obtained, 3rd October.
(Walpole-Bond, 1938).
[Walpole-Bond, 1938].
History Walpole-Bond (1938 (3): 1) says: 'One obtained at Dell Quay, near Chichester, by Sergeant Carter (MS., 1829-37) on October 3rd, 1837, was not included in A Practical Handbook, 1st ed., II. p. 286.'
0). 1881 Cleveland/Co. Durham Cowpen Marsh, Durham, immature, shot, 3rd September.
(T. H. Nelson, Zoologist 1882: 92-93; J. A. Harvie Brown, J. Cordeaux & P. M. C. Kermode, Migration Report 3: 30; Temperley, 1951).
[T. H. Nelson, Zoologist 1885: 113-114; Gladstone, 1912].
History T. H. Nelson of North Bondgate, Bishop Auckland (1882) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. VI. pp. 92-93, says: 'On the 3rd [September] two Ruffs, immature birds, were shot from a flock of seven seen, on Cowpen Marsh, by Mr. W. Chilton, also a Spotted Crake and a Blue-winged Teal, Q. discors; the last named Mr. Chilton kindly presented to me, and I enclose a coloured sketch, with dimensions. Mussell, the taxidermist, who preserved it, declared it to be a young bird.'
J. A. Harvie Brown, J. Cordeaux & P. M. C. Kermode (1882) in the Report on the Migration of Birds in the Spring and Autumn of 1881, 3rd report, p. 30, say: 'One, a young bird, shot on Sept. 3rd near Redcar by Mr. W. Chilton.'
T. H. Nelson (1885) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. IX. pp. 113-114, says: 'In The Zoologist for 1882 (p. 92) I referred to a supposed specimen of the American Blue-winged Teal, Querquedula discors, shot on September 3rd in that year, in Cowpen Marsh, near Redcar. The bird has since proved to be a young male Garganey, Querquedula circia, and I am therefore desirous of correcting my former statement in regard to it.'
Gladstone (1912) adds: 'The allegations that this species has occurred in Yorkshire and in Cambridgeshire have been rejected after full inquiry.'
Not accepted locally (Temperley 1951: 177) who was unaware of the second note resulting in its rejection.
Comment Misidentified. Not acceptable.
0). 1886 Outer Hebrides Rodel, Harris, pair, undated.
(Harvie-Brown & Buckley, 1888).
[BOU, 1971]
History Harvie-Brown & Buckley (1888: lix) say: 'During the last few years Lord Dunmore has introduced a great number of foreign water-fowl to a small loch close to Rodel. He has also enclosed the loch, with part of the wood of Rodel, and the hill-face above it, with a wire fence and netting; and additional ground was planted in 1886. In this year we visited the loch for the purpose of seeing the birds and making a list of them, with the idea of keeping an eye on future occurrences in the Hebrides of rare waterfowl. This list, which was rendered more complete by the assistance of Mr. Finlayson, gamekeeper, we reproduce here: - And in 1886 were added as follows: - One pair Blue-winged Teal.'
0). 1889 Cambridgeshire March, adult male, mid-April.
(J. G. Tuck, Zoologist 1889: 228-229).
[Gladstone, 1912; Not in BOU, 1971].
History J. G. Tuck of Tostock Rectory, Suffolk (1889) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. XIII. pp. 228-229, says: 'On April 24th Mr. L. Travis the Bury [St Edmunds] birdstuffer, showed me a duck he had just set up, which had been sent to him in the flesh a few days before from March, in Cambridgeshire with a male Shoveller.
A reference to Mr. Saunders' Illustrated Manual of British Birds (p. 422) enabled us to identify it as a mature Blue-winged Teal, Querquedula discors. It has the broad white streak in front of the eye, the brilliant blue wing-coverts, and legs like those of a Shoveller.
In answer to enquiries Mr. Travis kindly made for me, he was informed it was killed near March. I had hopes of being able to trace it to Norfolk.'
Gladstone (1912) adds: 'The allegations that this species has occurred in Yorkshire and in Cambridgeshire have been rejected after full inquiry.' Locally, Bircham (1989) does not mention this record.
0). 1941 Lincolnshire Sudbrook, immature male moulting to adult male, 10th September to 23rd October 1947.
(P. P. L. Stevenson, British Birds 41: 121-122; Lorand & Atkin, 1989).
[Smith & Cornwallis, 1955].
History P. P. L. Stevenson (1948) in British Birds, Vol. XL. pp. 121-122, says: 'On October 23rd, 1947, Messrs. A. E. C. Chambers, C. N. Langford and myself had the opportunity to study at close range a drake Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) on a pond in Mr. A. W. S. Dean's garden, Sudbrook Manor, Grantham. It was swimming about in company with various introduced wildfowl.
Mr. Dean informed us that it arrived as long ago as September 10th, 1941, and, although enquiries were made, no trace as to where it had come from could be found.
It was then immature and identification was not claimed as definite until it had assumed adult plumage. In 1941, Mr. Dean had one drake Teal (A. c. crecca), three pairs of Wigeon (A. penelope) and three pairs of Pintails (A. acuta) and the Blue-winged Teal immediately settled down with them, and has remained ever since.
Occasionally it flies away during the day, and Mr. Dean believes it goes into fields in the valley below, but he has never been able to locate it. It always returns either at dusk or dawn. When we saw it, it was in full plumage, and answered exactly to the description given in The Handbook. The white crescent in front of the eye was very marked, but as it swam around the typical colours on the shoulders were not visible. As it rose on the surface, however, to flap its wings the three colours were very brilliant - the blue, the white and the metallic green speculum exactly as shown on Plate 20. Mr. Dean said he had never heard the Blue-wing make a sound all the time he has had it.
It was fairly sociable with the other wildfowl, but it noticeably preferred the company of the Pintails, even to the Wigeon.
Mr. Dean told us that on August 17th, 1945, another bird flew in, which he feels quite certain was another immature drake Blue-winged Teal. This stayed for several days and then flew away. His identification was based on his knowledge of his own Blue-wing when it arrived in its immature state in 1941. This history would appear to lend weight to Mr. R. M. Garnett's suggestion in his note (antea, Vol. XL. p. 281) that Blue-winged Teal may be breeding in a feral state in Lincolnshire.'
Locally, Smith & Cornwallis (1955: 60) say: 'It seems likely to be an escape', while Lorand & Atkin (1989) say: '...though escapes from captivity cannot be discounted. An immature male joined a wildfowl collection at Sudbrooke, near Grantham on 10th September 1941 and was still present on 23rd October 1947, although it had sometimes flown away for short periods. It was recorded by A. W. S. Dean and was also seen by P. P. L. Stevenson.'
Comment Its extraordinary long stay adds weight to it having escaped. Not acceptable.
