ANATID.E. 



427 



THE AMERICAN WIGEON. 



Mareca AMERICANA (J. F. (imelin). 



The occurrence of this bird in a London market during the 

 winter of 1837- 8 was thus noticed by Blyth, in the third volume of 

 N. Wood's 'Naturalist,' p. 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, considering it 

 only as a variety, but insufficiently diverse to be worth preserving ; 

 he has since, however, positively recognized the female of the 

 American Wigeon to be identical with the bird he thus passed over 

 hesitatingly in the market." This specimen — a male — is now in the 

 collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney ; and assuming, as we may fairly do, 

 that it was really killed in this country, it is the only British-taken 

 example in existence. Thompson believed on hearsay evidence 

 that one, not preserved, was killed in February 1844 on Strangford 

 Lough near Belfast ; and among his many unauthenticated rarities, 

 Thomas Edward, of Banff, has enumerated another, shot on the 

 Burn of Boyndie in January 1841, but afterwards thrown away ! Two 

 other records in ' The Zoologist ' are so utterly unsubstantiated as 

 to be unworthy of serious consideration. 



In France, according to MM. Marmottan and Vian, a female, 

 now in the collection of the former, was taken at Le Crotoy, Somme, 



