112 GAME BIIWS OF CALIFOFNIA 



with dull whitish. Wing as in the ailult, except that the coverts are dull 

 cinereous broadly bordered with white. Lower parts except as described, pure 

 white" (Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, loe. cit.). Natal plumage: Top of head 

 brownish black; forehead, sides of head, and hind neck, light cinnamon brown; 

 whole back brown, wnth a spot of straw yellow on each side near base of tail, 

 and one of light tawny on hind border of each wing; lower surface of body 

 dull straw yellow, with an obscure wash of light cinnamon brown across 

 foreneck. 



Marks for field identification — Similar to those for Baldpate. In hand 

 the male European Widgeon can be identified by the bright rufous red instead 

 of white and black speckled head, by lack of a green patch behind eye, by 

 grayish rather than pinkish brown tone of back, and by entire absence of 

 brown on sides of body (pi. 3). Both sexes ])0ssess gray axillar feathers; in the 

 Baldpate these are white. 



Voice — "The call note of the male is a shrill, whistling whee-you, whence 

 the local names 'Whew-Duck' and 'Whewer'; but the female utters a low 

 purr or croak" (Saunders, 1899, p. 438). 



Nest — On ground near water; built of grasses and dead plants and well 

 concealed. 



Eggs — 5 to 10, pointedly ovate in shape, measuring in inches, 2.13 to 2.30 by 

 1.50 to 1.53 (in millimeters, 54.3 to 58.4 by 38.2 to 38.8); in color buffy white 

 (authors). 



General distribution. — Northern part of the Eastern Hemisphere. Occurs 

 occasionally in winter and in migration in North America, from Wisconsin, 

 Michigan, New York, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Greenland south to 

 Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, and in Alaska, 

 British Columbia and California (A. O. V. Check-list, 1910, pp. 69-70). 



Distribution in California — A not infrequent winter visitant. Definite 

 records known to the writers, of its occurrence within the state are: Eio Vista, 

 Solano County, two specimens (Belding, MS) ; San Francisco market, several 

 specimens (Cooper, 1868, p. 9; W. E. Bryant, 1886, p. 426; Ridgway, 1880, p. 

 231); Eureka, Humboldt County (C. H. Townsend, 1886, p. 491); Humboldt 

 Bay, Humboldt County, two specimens (F. J. Smith, MS) ; Bixby, Los Angeles 

 County (Grinnell, 1904b, pp. 383-384). 



The European Widgeon is one of the few species which really 

 belong to tlie Eastern Hemisphere but of which stragglers occasionally 

 reach America. There are no records of its breeding within the United 

 States or anywhere else in North America. Cooke (1906, p. 28) 

 points out that most of the California records are in February, those 

 in British Columbia from December 25 to February 9, and the two 

 Alaska dates October 12 and May 27. Our birds probably come from 

 eastern Siberia. 



All the California records are from near, the coast. ]\Ir. F. J. 

 Smith of Eureka writes us that three Red-headed Widgeons have 

 been taken on Humboldt Bay. One is an adult male in the collection 

 of birds mounted by Mr. Chas. Fiebig and now in the public library 

 at Eureka. This is doubtless the specimen recorded by C. H. Town- 

 send (1886, p. 491). A second adult male in faded plumage was taken 



