WATER BIRDS. 81 



The nest is merely a hollow in the ground padded with grass and weed 

 stems and profusely lined with dark gray down around the eggs. These 

 are dull creamy white, whiter and less creamy than the Baldpate's, also 

 shorter and rounder. Mr. Bent found from seven to eleven eggs in a set, 

 and seven nests with eggs were found July 15, 1901. The eggs average 

 2.09 by 1.57 inches. 



In its general habits it resembles the Mallard, frequenting the smaller 

 streams, the edges of ponds and rivers, and the sloughs and pools of marshes, 

 where it feeds on grasses and the leaves of various water plants, as well 

 as on their roots and bulbs, and probably also on snails and other small 

 animals, including insects. It never dives for its food, but secures it by 

 "tilting" or "standing on its head" in shallow water, or by wading along 

 the shore or waddling about on dry land. On the prairie sloughs of the 

 northwest where it is more abundant, it flies in moderate or small flocks, 

 but with us it is found singly or in squads of three or four, single Gadwalls 

 being most often seen in company with Pintails or Baldpates. We have 

 no data on its migration in Michigan, but the records for neighboring 

 states indicate that it is likely to reach us from the south during the latter 

 half of March, passing northward during April and returning in October. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



A large duck, similar in general appearance to the Mallard and Black Duck, but slightly- 

 smaller. The adult male has the^top of the head brown or brownish-white thickly streaked 

 and spotted with black, the top of the head with the ground color brownest and the streaks 

 nearly wanting; the sides of the head similar but paler. The lower neck all around 

 and the breast black, each feather with a white border and a ring or crescent of white which 

 gives the plumage a peculiar and unmistakable appearance. The belly is pale gray or 

 white, with the under tail-coverts"velvet black in sharp contrast. The upper parts are 

 brownish-slate, the rump and upper tail-coverts black. The lesser-wing-coverts are 

 chestnut-brown, a distinctive feature; speculum pure white with a broad velvet black 

 patch in front. The adult female has the head and throat similar to those parts in the 

 male, but the breast and sides buffy spotted with black and with the peculiar scale-like 

 markings less distinct than in the other sex; the lesser wing-coverts also commonly lack 

 the chestnut. 



Length of male, 19.25 to 21.75 inches; wing, 10.25 to 11, culmen, 1.60 to 1.75. Female: 

 Length about 18 inches, wing, 10 to 10.25, culmen 1.55 to 1.65. 



36. European Widgeon. Mareca penelope TAnn. (136) 



Synonyms: Widgeon. — Anas penelope, Linn., 1758. 



The male in adult plumage resembles the American Widgeon or Baldpate 

 except that most of the head and neck are rich reddish brown, the chin 

 and throat blackish. It is not likely that the two species would be dis- 

 criminated at gun shot range. 



Distribution. — Northern parts of the Old World. In North America 

 breeds on the Aleutian Islands, and occurs frequently in the eastern United 

 States and occasionally in California. 



Perhaps a dozen specimens have been recorded in the eastern United 

 States in the last twenty years, and of these four at least have been taken 

 in Michigan. There is a nice mounted specimen in the collection of the 

 Monroe Marsh Club, Monroe, Michigan, killed there by Robert Lawrence 

 of New York City, probably about 1898. The writer examined this speci- 

 men in March, 1905. Mr. Harold Herrick records one (Auk, XIX, 284) 

 taken at Monroe, March 27, 1902 by William B. Boulton. He also states 

 that another male in good plumage was taken in April, 1900, and a third 

 11 



