1040 WILLET—WILLOW-BITER 
autumn to the waters of temperate Europe are in Lapland or further 
to the eastward. Comparatively few breed in Iceland. 
Intermediate in size between the TEAL and the MALLARD, and 
less showy in plumage than either, the drake Wigeon is a beautiful 
bird, with the greater part of his bill blue, his forehead cream-colour, 
his head and neck chestnut,! passing into pinkish-grey below and 
above into lavender-grey, which last, produced by the transverse 
undulations of fine black and white lines, extends over the back 
and upper surface of the wings, except some of the coverts, which 
are conspicuously white, and shews itself again on the flanks. The 
wings are further ornamented by a glossy green speculum between 
two black bars.; the tail is pointed and dark; the rest of the lower 
parts is white. The female has the inconspicuous coloration 
characteristic of her sex among most of the Freshwater-Ducks. In 
habits the Wigeon differs not a little from most of the Anating. It 
greatly affects tidal waters during the season of its southern stay, 
and becomes the object of slaughter to hundreds of gunners on 
the coasts of Britain and Holland; but, when it resorts to inland 
localities, as it also does to some extent, it passes much of its time 
in grazing, especially by day, on the pastures which surround the 
lakes or moors that it selects. 
The Wigeon occurs occasionally on the eastern coast of North 
America, and frequently, it would seem, in Alaska. But the New 
World has two allied species of its own. One of them, JZ. americana 
(a freshly-killed example of which was once found in a London 
market), inhabiting the northern part of that continent, and in 
winter reaching Central America and the West Indian islands as 
far as Trinidad, resembles its Old-World congener wholly in habits 
and much in appearance. But in it the pale frontlet and the rich 
chestnut are mingled into, as it were, a compromise of light warm 
brown, the white wing-coverts are less extensive and nearly all the 
plumage is subdued in tone. The other species JM. sibilatrix or 
chiloensis, inhabits the.southern portion of South America and its 
islands, from Chili on the west to the Falklands on the east, and is 
easily recognized by its nearly white head, nape glossy with purple 
and green and other differences. 
WILLET, a name in North America originally given, from its 
ery, to what is known in books as the Semipalmated Sandpiper, 
Symphemia semipalmata, but by recent writers of that country applied 
to all the Totaniny (SANDPIPER, page 811, note). 
WILLOCK, one of the many names of the GUILLEMOT and 
RAZOR-BILL. 
WILLOW-BITER (corruptly Billy-biter), a local name of the 
Blue TrrmousE (page 967): WILLOW-WREN, see WREN. 
1 Hence come the additional local names ‘‘ Bald-pate”’ and ‘“ Red-head,” 
