WIGEON. 193 



Wigeon is a shrill whistle, and in some parts of England it 

 is in consequence called the Whew Duck : its name in 

 France, Canard srffleur, has reference to the same circum- 

 stance. In some books on cookery, and in bills of fare, 

 Wigeons are called Easterlings ; and all over Lapland they 

 are called Grass Ducks. The note of Richard Dann, Esq. in 

 reference to the Wigeon in Scandinavia, is as follows : — 

 " This is the most abundant of all the Duck tribe in Lap- 

 land, frequenting the grassy swamps, lakes, and rivers. They 

 appear with the first breaking up of the ice, in pairs, and as 

 soon as the female begins to lay, the male loses his beautiful 

 plumage, and secretes himself in willow swamps, and in the 

 most inaccessible morasses ; nor does he recover his former 

 appearance until November or December. The females lay 

 from five to eight eggs. They also breed in the Dofre Fiell, 

 as high as the birch grows, and in many other parts of Nor- 

 Avay and Sweden, but only in straggling pairs. They migrate 

 south early in September, appearing in great flocks on the 

 coast of Norway and Sweden. The young keep among the 

 rushes and reeds in the lakes ; the old birds betaking them- 

 selves to the shallows on the coast ; but they, unlike the 

 JNIallard, entirely leave Sweden in the winter." 



Mr. Proctor sent me word that a few breed in Iceland, 

 forming their nest generally among low bushes near the edge 

 of the fresh waters. 



The female Wigeon has not been known to breed in con- 

 finement that I am aware of, but the male has bred with a 

 Pintail ed Duck, and in another instance with a dun-coloured 

 variety of the Common Duck. A preserved specimen given 

 me by Richard Dann, Esq. has all the appearance of being 

 a hybrid between the Wigeon and Common Duck. A few 

 pairs breed in Holland, according to M. Temminck ; and 

 these birds are abundant in France and Germany throughout 

 the winter. They are found in Spain, and are observed at 



VOL. III. O 



