VOL. IX.] NOTES. 301 



ever see it vary. It had the appearance of a pinkish-buff 

 sort of mash, like the crushed inside of fir-bark. 



S. Kendall Barnes. 



ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD IN HAMPSHIRE. 



Av adult Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo I. lagopus) was 

 caught in a trap at Leckford, near Stockbridge, Hampshire. 

 earl.y in January, 1916. Francis E. Blagg. 



WIGEON DIVING. 



That the Wigeon (Anas penelope) cannot lie regarded ordin- 

 arily as a diving duck is, of course, certain. All the testimony 

 we have is to that effect. Saunders says [Manual, p. 426. 

 18(S9) that " although it does not dive for food," it can do 

 so when wounded and pursued. Dresser declares {Birds of 

 Europe, " Wigeon," p. 6, 1876) that " when feeding, it never 

 appears to dive, but stretches down with its neck." Neither 

 Seebohm {Brit. Birds, III., p. 540. 1885) nor Millais {Brit. 

 Surface-feeding Dvcks, 1902) gives any hint that the bird ever 

 dives. Yet one may doubt whether it does not do so more 

 connnonly than is usually supposed. 



Within the last two years I have kept, pinioned in a pond 

 in my garden, several pairs of Wigeon caught in a decoy on 

 the Essex coast ; but, being ducks which feed largely on grass, 

 they will persist in scrambling out of the pond to feed on the 

 grass on the lawni. where they fall a prey to the foxes at night. 

 As a result, I have now only one single female left. 



On several occasions, I have watched either this ])ird or 

 another female (now gone) diving in the pond. Thus, on or 

 about June 15th, 1915, I saw her dive (considerably to my 

 surprise) at least twice, in fairly quick succession, remaining 

 under water for at least two or three seconds on each occasion. 

 Again, as recently as February 13th, 1916, I saw her dive 

 right under, three or four times, once more in fairly quick 

 succession, remaining under water, I estimated, quite five 

 seconds on each occasion. These later dives were made all 

 at the same spot, where the water was eighteen inches or 

 t\\o feet deep, and were undertaken appai-ently to secure 

 some kind of food which had there sunk to the bottom. On 

 both these and the earlier occasions, the act of diving seemed 

 to be quite easy and natural and to require no premeditation. 



Miller Christy. 



[Lord Lilford {Birds of Northamptonshire, p. 166) says of 

 the Wigeon : " These birds do not habitually procure their 

 food by diving, although they are very expert in the art." — 

 Eds.] ^ 



