AMERICAN WIDGEON. 391 



have a sort of sentinel on the watch. At times they keep 

 in covert until twilight, and are then traced by their low, 

 guttural, and peculiar whistle, or ' loJieio 'lohew, as well as 

 other calls, and their whistle is frequently imitated with 

 success to entice them within gun-shot. They feed much in 

 the winter upon aquatic vegetables, cropping the Potamo- 

 geton or Pond Weed, as well as other kinds of fresh-water 

 plants and seeds, and sometimes themselves, dive and 

 collect the roots and leaves of the Rupp'ia and Zostera or 

 Sea-Wrack. 



In the middle States these birds are frequently brought to 

 market, sell well, and are much esteemed as food. As the 

 species feeds principally on seeds, grain, and vegetables, 

 they might probably be readily domesticated. Suited to the 

 nature of their food, the stomach is remarkably stout and 

 muscular. 



The length of the American Widgeon is about 23 inches ; the folded 

 wing 10 inches 3 hnes ; length of the bill above, 1 inch 5 lines ; the 

 tarsus 1^ inches. In the male the front and crown is cream colored; 

 sometimes nearly white ; behind the eye a broad dark green patch, 

 which ends in the short crest on the hind part of the head. Upper 

 part and sides of the breast brownish-red, glossed with grey. Base 

 of the neck above, interscapulars, scapulars, and flanks, minutely 

 and exquisitely undulated with brownish-red and black : throat and 

 sides of the neck yellowish-white, thickly covered with small spots 

 of black ; hind part of the back waved with clove-brown and white, 

 the latter color prevailing on the tail coverts. Lesser winor coverts, 

 primaries, and tail, clove-brown ; intermediate and greater coverts, 

 sides of the rump, breast, and belly, pure white. Speculum velvet- 

 black below, green above, and bounded superiorly with black and 

 behind with white. Exterior webs of the tertiaries, and lateral and 

 inferior tail coverts deep greenish velvet-black, the tertiaries long 

 and pointed, bordered and shafted conspicuously with white. Bill 

 small, shorter than the head, clear and bright bluish-grey, bordered 

 and tipped with black, the under mandible wholly black. Plumage 

 of the nape somewhat lengthened. Closed wings above an inch 

 shorter than the acutely pointed tail, which, as in the European 



