WIGEON . 293 



coverts brown with dusky bars. Young birds differ from the adult 

 females by the absence of the pure white wing-patch at the tips of 

 the secondaries. In the duckling the down of the upper surface is 

 uniformly brown, while the cheeks and throat are bright orange. 



In the main the wigeon is a winter-visitor to the British Isles, 

 where it arrives in large numbers, and is one of the most abundant 

 representatives of the duck -tribe. Nevertheless a certain number 

 remain to breed in the northern counties of Scotland, and a few do 

 the same in Ireland.^ From October to the middle of November 

 is the season during which the bulk of the winter influx of wigeon 

 makes its appearance on the British coasts ; and on arrival the flocks 

 either remain on the seashore, where they feed largely on one 

 particular kind of seaweed, or betake themselves to inland lakes, 

 when their food consists partiall}- of grass and water-plants and 

 partially of various invertebrate animals. When on land, wigeon 

 differ from most other ducks in grazing after the fashion of geese ; 

 and they are further characterised by the loud whistling call of the 

 drakes and a kind of purring note uttered by the ducks when the 

 flocks are settling down on the water, although when feeding the 

 splashing made by their busy beaks takes the place of the vocal 

 sounds. When in good condition, wigeon make excellent table-birds, 

 although at times their flesh may be rank and fishy. The eggs, which 

 seldom exceed from seven to half-a-score in a clutch, are of about the 

 size of those of gadwall, measuring from 2 to 2^; inches in length. 

 The down in which they are embedded is mainly dark chocolate-brown, 

 the whitish central spot and terminal fringe of each filament being 

 inconspicuous. The nest itself, which is ver}- deep, is generally placed 

 close to water, amid grass or sedge, often under the protecting shelter 

 of a dwarf willow, and is constructed of dry grass and sedge. 



The wigeon is one of the most northerly breeders of all the more 

 typical ducks, Iceland and Lapland being favourite nesting-resorts, 

 whence the breeding-range extends right across Arctic Europe and 

 Siberia to the peninsula of Kamchatka. Nests have, however, been 

 taken on the lower course of the Danube, as well, it is said, as 

 in Germany and France. In winter wigeon range as far south as 

 Madeira, Abyssinia, northern India, Burma, and China, occasionally 

 straggling even farther in the same direction. From Kamchatka they 

 extend into Alaska, and thence down the coast to California, while a 

 few unusually venturesome individuals brave the terrors of the Atlantic 

 and reach the eastern United States in winter. 



' Cottney, Zoologist, 1 901, p. 269. 



