EUROPEAN WIDGEON. 



109 



which there is any doubt should always be preserved 

 for submission to an ornithologist. 



This species belongs to the Old World, yet has been 

 found over much of the New. It occurs regularly in 

 Alaska and breeds there, and, no doubt, it is due to this 

 fact that it has been killed in California, Illinois, New 

 York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. 

 I have killed it in North Carolina, but it occurs there 

 so seldom that it is not at all known to gunners, and 

 my boatman when he picked up this bird took it at first 

 for a redhead and afterward for a hybrid. 



Its habits, as observed in the Old World, do not 

 greatly differ from those of the American widgeon, 

 and it is said to be as numerous in certain parts of Eu- 

 rope as our bird is here. 



During the molting season the male loses his bright 

 colors, which, however, are regained in the early fall. 





