CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 43 



same as they have obseiTed in their own particular 

 district. 



The Wild Duck and Wigeon are perhaps the best 

 flavoured, and consequently the most sought after, of all 

 our wildfowl, the only others that can compete with 

 them being the Pintail, Teal, and Pochard. 



Even if they frequent the sea during the day, they 

 seldom acquire the fishy taste that is so common in 

 some fowl. Tow^ards night they are sure to make 

 their way inland to the marshes and rivers for food. 

 I often noticed, when in the south of Scotland, that 

 these birds resorted to the potato fields in large 

 flocks, remaining all night scattered over the ground, 

 searching for the exposed roots, and leaving just before 

 daybreak for the open sea. 



The male bird, though represented in the case as 

 sunning himself on the bank in the society of his wife 

 and family, is in reality but little given to a domestic 

 life, usually leaving the brood to the care of the 

 female, and seeking his own pleasures in company with 

 two or three faithless husbands hke himself. 



The female and young were obtained in Glenlyon, 

 in Perthshire, in June, 1867, the male being killed 

 earlier in the season. 



WIGEON. 



Case 52. 



Though it has been stated that this bird but rarely 

 remains to breed in the British Islands, considerable 

 numbers usually rear their young in three or four of 

 the most northern counties of Scotland. When search- 

 ing for the nests of other species, I have on one or 



