Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1969, Page 70

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NÁTT Ú RUFRÆÐINGURIN N
can bc said about tbc identity of his íemalc and dovvny young. d’hese records
must be rejected as vvell as Coburn’s claim tliat the species bred in Iceland.
Since 1949 a number of observations have been made of Arias americana in
Iceland. All records up to 1 May 1968 (most of them hitherto unpublished) are
listed belovv:
(1) Adult male collected in spring 1898 Lake Mývatn, N. Iceland (Árni Jóns-
son in litt.). Tliis specimen, novv apparantly lost, was acquired by F.
Coburn in summer 1899. (Thc Rev. fónsson also claimed to have seen a
male americana in spring 1899.)
(2) Single male seen 27 June 1949 near Slútnes, Mývatn.
(3) Male paired with female wigeon (Anas penelope or americana) seen 11
May 1950 at Grímsstadir, Mývatn.
(4) Male with two female wigeon (penelope or americana) seen 17 June 1951
on river Laxá near Mývatn (Scott 1953).
(5) Male seen 27 June 1957 on a lake near Ilofgardar, Snæfellsnes, W. Iceland.
(6) Male seen in a flock of about 1000 (mostly rnale) European Wigeon
(Anas penelope) 1 July 1963 on Neslandavík, Mývatn.
(7) Male seen vvith other dabbling ducks, mainly European Wigeon and
Gadwall (Anas strepera), 15 June 1964 at Geiteyjarströnd, Mývatn.
(8) Adult male shot 7 June 1965 on the river Kráká close to Mývatn. Specimen
in the Museum of Natural History, Reykjavík. This bird was paired with
a female wigeon (penelope or americana) which could not be obtained.
According to a local source a male American Wigeon paired with an
unidentified female was seen in the vicinity two weeks earlier.
(9) Unpaired male in a flock of European Wigeon seen 8 and 9 November
1965 on a lake near Sandgerdi, S. W. Iceland.
(10) Maleseen in flocks of European Wigeon and Mallard (Anasplatyrhynchos)
on 21 November 1965, and 1, 10, and 11 January 1966 in river delta
Ellidaárvogur, Reykjavík, S. W. Iceland.
(11) Male in a flock of 220 European Wigeon seen 28 December 1965 on the
slvore near Hafnarfjördur, S. W. Iceland.
(12) Male paired with female European Wigeon or American Wigeon seen in
spring 1966 at Mývatn (Hengtson 1967).
(13) Male seen in August 1966 at Mývatn (Bengtson 1967).
(14) Paired male seen and photographed 4, 5 and 13 June, 1967 at Álftagerdi,
Mývatn. On June 5 one of the observers, Mr. Bertel Bruun, identified the
female as Anas penelope. In my opinion, field observation cannot
be relied on to idcntify females of penelope and americana.
(15) Single male seen and photographed 13 and 14 November 1967 on Lake
Tjörnin, Reykjavík.
Thus the American Wigeon appears to be a rather frequent vagrant in
Iceland, 11 of the 15 records are from the summer months (May to August),
4 records are from winter (November to January) but at least 2 of these could be
of the same individual. The American Wigeon is usually observed singly or pair-