72 



It is not difficult to distinguish the old from the young birds 

 when you have them together ; each feather of the young bird 

 is smaller than in the old, and in the old birds the general colour 

 is purer and the feathers seem more compact than in the young 

 birds. C. M. A. (Newcastle-on-Tyne). 



WIGEON, ETC. 

 (Reprinted from " The Field" Newspaper, Dec. 6th, 1862). 



THE state of plumage in which a male Wigeon is described by 

 ' Astur" is remarkable, considering the season. The only way 

 to account for the quills being as described is that, from some 

 accidental and very unusual cause, the bird had not completed 

 his moult at the regular time, and had migrated here before 

 doing so. If he had been caught by a severe frost in fresh water, 

 he would have been in great danger of being made a meal of 

 by a Fox. I think, as a general rule, the drakes of the Com- 

 mon Wild Duck, AVigeon, and other allied species, cast all 

 their quills at the same time ; this they do in July, and the 

 birds continue skulking about amongst the reeds and coarse co- 

 vert until they grow again. At that season all drakes are in 

 their plain plumage, which nearly resembles that of the Ducks, 

 and when they are met with they are often taken for flappers. 

 During the time they are in this apparently helpless condition, 

 nature takes care they shall have plenty of food, without their 

 being obliged to travel to any distance. Their wings grow again 

 before the approach of autumn, and by the time it is necessary 

 for them to migrate either in search of food or for sonic parti- 

 cular food they like they are in full vigour, and able to under- 

 take their autumnal migration. The young of all Ducks, Snipes, 

 and, indeed, of all birds, get their first primaries secondaries tail 

 and other feathers, in most regular order ; all the feathers com- 

 mence to grow simultaneously, and consequently they all arrive 

 at their full length about the same time. In true game birds 



