The Ducks. 



141 



The Gadvvall. 



THE GADWALL. 



{Chauleltiitnns 



strcpcrus.) 



The Gadvvall has a narrower bill than the Mallard, and the 

 sexes are not so different in colour as in most of the Ducks. 

 The species is easil_\- told by tlie chestnut and black patch on 

 the wing, the speculum of which is white, these characters 

 beini; more evident in the male than the female. The Gadwall nests in Norfolk, 

 but is principally known as a winter visitor to Great Britain. It nests throughout 

 the greater part of Europe and in Iceland, and it also extends throughout Northern 

 Asia to the Pacific, as well as to North America. It is a fresh-water Duck and is 

 sh}' in its habits, but sometimes congregates in large numbers on inland waters. 

 The nest is placed on the ground, and consists of a depression in the latter, lined 

 with bits of reed or grass, and with the down of the bird. The eggs are from eight to 

 twelve in number, and are from two to two-and-a-quarter inches in length ; they are 

 of Li butfy or creamy-white colour. 



This is a handsome Duck, very similar in form to the 

 Gadwall, but differing in its somewhat longer tail and in the 



THE WIGEON. 

 [Marfca poiclvpe.) 



lamella of the bill being less prominent. The colour of the 

 bill is grey, tipped with l)lack, and the species can always be told by its green 

 wing-speculum, and by the large patch of white on the wing, formed by the median 

 and greater wing-coverts ; this is less developed in the females and young birds. 

 The Wigeon breeds regularly in the nortli of Scotland and is believed to do so 

 occasionally in Ireland, but it is principally known as a winter visitor to the British 

 Isles. The breeding-range of the \\'igeon extends from Northern Europe to Eastern 



