240 JOrnyAL, bom ha Y XA TI^RA L ///story HOC/ETY, VoI. xji. 



stalker and tlio stnlkixl, and many shots may Iw obtained at \Vi;40on 

 by walking round the borders of a lake whilst most of the other duck 

 are away in tlie middle of the water, nnapproaehable except by a boat 

 and often not by that. They collect in very large flocks, sometimes 

 num])ering as much as seven or eight hundred individuals, but more 

 often will be found in flocks of a hundred or so, and, of course, when 

 they are less common in small flocks of a dozen or loss, often in pairs or 

 singly, but in the latter case always vvith some other duck. 



Of their voice Hume writes : " They are on the whole, neitlior 

 loquacious birds, and both when feeding and at rest, when wallving, 

 swimming and flying often utter a shrill 'whew, ' a sort of whistle by 

 which you may know them at any distance ; it is not a clear full 

 whistle like the Curlews, but a whistled cry rather discordant when 

 heard by day, but not without its charm when uttered by night by 

 large numbers mingled with the call of many other species and 

 mellowed by the distance and the multitudinous voices of winds and 

 water." 



They fly with a swift powerful flight, generally in line formation, the 

 line nearly always irregular and altering much in sha[)e as the birds 

 fly ; the two ends are generally thin, whilst towards the centre the 

 birds are more numerous. When flying from one jhil to another or 

 when put up by shots they do not, ] think, take any particular 

 formation. 



Meversavs : " The Wigeon fly in the usual manner of ducks following 

 one another ; but these birds fly so very close upon the heels of their 

 leader that it formed a distingaisliing peculiarity." 



Hume notes the peculiar rustle nnide by the "Wigeon in flying ; this 

 is very dist'ncti-. e, and when close at hand soimds very different to the 

 swish of the IMallard or the sound of other ducks' flight. 



In England they are caught in large numbers by decoys which 

 induce the wild birds to enter small waterways which are roofed in 

 with wire netting and which gradually lead to a largo drop-net in 

 which they are entangled. The placing of th) pipes, as the loading 

 tunnel-nets are called, is the main feature of the trap, as these have to 

 be so made that they are quite inconspicuous and the enti-ances must 

 be natural ones. Sometimes a small dog is trained to dodge about, the 

 ]»ipos, continually sh-r.ving its'df higher u[» the pipe for an instant or 



