392 THE WIG EON'. 



account of the singularity of its birthplace. The old duck crossed 

 the water with her young brood, and unfortunately fell in with the 

 Cape geese. These savage birds flew at the little ducks, killed most 

 of them, and mortally wounded the rest, so that in a day or two 

 they all died. The old duck made her nest a second time on the 

 same ruin, at the other extremity of it, and a little higher from the 

 water. On the 6th of June 1828, about three o'clock in the after- 

 noon, my servant saw the old duck leave the ruin and fly into the 

 water. Presently he saw ten little ones jump down into the water 

 one after the other. He called me, and I got the boat and secured 

 the whole of them. 



Mallard. The first flock of wild ducks this season made its ap- 

 pearance at Walton Hall on the nth August 1828. 



Wild Duck. Feb. 5th, 1864. Counted here this morning more 

 than fifteen hundred wild ducks. 



THE WIGEON. 



FROM the month of May to that of October we know nothing of the 

 haunts and economy of this cheerful and familiar stranger ; for he al- 

 ways takes his leave of us in the spring ; at which time, he is supposed 

 to proceed to distant regions of the north, where ornithologists have 

 never yet dared to venture. I am satisfied, in my own mind, that the 

 wigeon does not stay here to breed. All my endeavours to find its 

 nest have hitherto been ineffectual ; nor can I recollect to have met 

 with one well-authenticated account of the wigeon's egg having ever 

 been found in England. 



Formerly, I used to consider the wigeon as one of those migratory 

 birds of which little could ever be known, as it merely came here to 

 spend the winter months amongst us, in order to avoid the dismal tem- 

 pests which were raging in its own native land. Under this erroneous 

 impression, I always availed myself of every opportunity to get a shot 

 at the wigeons. Of course, this made them exceedingly shy and wary; 

 for persecution soon shows to birds the danger of placing themselves 



