A NSERES. 



AMERICAN WIGEON. 



403 



ANATID^E. 



MaRECA AMERICANA (Gmeliii *). 



THE AMERICAN WIGEON. 



Anas Americana. 



The occurrence of the American Wigeon in a London 

 market during the winter of 1837-8, was thus noticed by 

 the late Edward Blyth, in the third volume of N. Wood's 

 ' Naturalist,' page 417 : — ■ 



" The American Wigeon is a novelty which was obtained 

 by Mr. Bartlett. He selected it from a row of Common 

 Wigeons, deeming it, at the time, to be only an accidental 

 variety of the species; there was a female along with it, 

 which, after some hesitation, he unfortunately left, con- 

 sidering it only as a variety, but insufficiently diverse to be 

 worth preserving; he has since, however, positively recog- 

 nized the female of the American Wigeon to be identical 

 with the bird he thus passed over hesitatingly in the market. 

 The dimensions of the male bird were nineteen inches in 

 length, and thirty-two and a half in extent of wing ; the 

 * Amis americana, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. ii. p. 256 (1788). 



