198 ANATID.E. 



May, and also tliose of the Delaware. They leave these 

 places in April, and appear upon the coasts of Hudson's Bay 

 in May, as soon as the thaws come on, chiefly in pairs ; lay 

 there only from six to eight eggs, and feed on flies and 

 worms in the swamps ; depart in flocks in autumn. These 

 birds are frequently brought to the market of Baltimore, and 

 generally bring a good price, their flesh being excellent. 

 They are of a lively frolicsome disposition, and with proper 

 attention might easily be domesticated."*' 



Dr. Nuttall says " he has never seen them anywhere 

 so numerous as in the Neuse river, round Newbern, forty 

 miles from the ocean, where, in company with the Canvass- 

 back and BufFel-head, they are seen constantly in February 

 and March." 



Mr. Audubon says " this Duck is abundant during winter 

 at New Orleans, where it is much esteemed on account of 

 the juiciness of its flesh, and is best known by the name of 

 Zi'nzin. In the western country, and in most parts of the 

 eastern and Middle States, it is called the Bald Pate. 

 While advancing along the shores of the Bay of Mexico, in 

 April 1837, I and my party observed this species in con- 

 siderable numbers ; and during the Avhole of our stay in the 

 Texas, we daily saw, and very frequently procured Wigeons. 

 There they were found in ponds of brackish water, as well 

 as in the fresh-water streams. Before we left that country 

 they were all paired ; and I was informed by the Honourable 

 M. Fisher, secretary to the Texian Navy, that a good num- 

 ber of them breed in the maritime districts, along with several 

 other ducks, and that he annually received many of the young 

 birds. Their manners at this time fully proved the con-ect- 

 ness of the statements of all those who spoke to me on this 

 subject. Indeed, my opinion is, that some of these birds 

 also pro])agate in certain portions of the most southern dis- 



