THE MAGAZINE 



OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



JULY, 1835, 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. Notes on the Habits of the Wigeon. By Charles 

 Waterton, Esq. 



From the month of May to that of October, we know 

 nothing of the haunts and economy of this cheerful and fami- 

 liar stranger ; for he always takes his leave of us in spring ; 

 at which time he is supposed to proceed to distant regions 

 of the north, where ornithologists have never yet dared to 

 venture. 



I am satisfied in my own mind, that the wigeon does not 

 stay here to breed. All my endeavours to find its nest have 

 hitherto been ineffectual ; nor can I recollect to have met with 

 one well authenticated account of the wigeon's eggs having 

 ever been found in England. [VI. 384.] 



Formerly, I used to consider the wigeon as one of those 

 migratory birds of which little could ever be known, as it 

 merely came here to spend the winter months amongst us, in 

 order to avoid the dismal tempests which were raging in its 

 own native land. Under this erroneous impression, I always 

 availed myself of every opportunity to get a shot at the wigeons. 

 Of course, this made them exceedingly shy and wary ; for 

 persecution soon shows to birds the danger of placing them- 

 selves within the reach of man. Hence their visits here were 

 few and transitory ; and sometimes weeks elapsed without my 

 seeing a single wigeon on the water. 



Since I have shut the temple of Janus, and proclaimed un- 

 disturbed repose to those of the feathered race which come to 

 seek for shelter here, the wigeons are in great abundance; 

 and, from the time of their arrival to the period of their de- 

 parture, they may be found here every day, whether in a 

 frosty, a snowy, or an open season. A stranger, on observing 



Vol. VIII. — No. 51. cc 



