BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 493 



WIGEON. 



(Mareca penelope^] 

 Order ANSERES ; Family ANATID^E (DUCKS). 



Description of Parent Birds. 

 Length about eighteen 

 inches ; bill rather short, 

 narrow, highish at the base, 

 and bluish-grey, tipped with 

 black. Irides dark brown. 

 Forehead and crown cream 

 colour ; rest of head and 

 upper part of neck rich bav. 



WIGEON ON NEST. f r , \, , ,, , . " ' 



almost black on the chin and 



throat. A streak of green passes backward from the 

 eye, and the cheeks and neck are minutely spotted 

 with blackish-green ; back and scapulars greyish- 

 white, barred with fine irregular lines of black ; wing- 

 coverts white, tipped with black ; outer webs of 

 secondaries green, tipped with black ; tertials or 

 inner secondaries black on the outer webs, which are 

 broadly margined with white ; primaries dusky- 

 brown ; upper tail-coverts freckled with grey ; tail 

 feathers long, wedge-shaped, and dusky-black, mixed 

 with grey and brown ; lower part of the neck and 

 shoulders pale red ; breast, belly, and vent white ; 

 sides and flanks marked with fine undulating lines 

 of black ; under tail-coverts rich black ; legs, toes, 

 and webs dark brown. 



The female is a little smaller ; her head and 

 neck are brown, tinged with red and speckled with 

 dark brown. The feathers on her upper-parts are 

 dark brown, margined with light reddish-brown ; 

 breast pale brown ; under-parts almost white ; wings 

 and tail somewhat similar to those of the male. 



