178 _ THE WIGEON. 
ments by the superincumbent body of the bird. On 
this the female lays her eggs; nor could she well 
procure a better or a softer substance for them. 
Trifling as an attention to the feathered tribe may 
seem, still it has its sweets for those who love to 
lead a rural life. I generally observe that visiters 
who come here are always anxious to have a sight 
of the birds which take up their abode in this 
sequestered valley; and they listen with evident 
signs of pleasure to the cries of the nocturnal wan- 
derers of the air. It is not above a week ago that I 
heard the heron screaming, the wigeon whistling, 
the barn owl screeching, and the tawny owl hooting, 
in rapid succession. The moon was playing on the 
water at the time, and the air was nearly as warm 
as summer. I thought of times long past and gone, 
when I was enjoying nature’s richest scenery in the 
interminable forests of Guiana. 
NOTES ON THE HABITS OF 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 always takes 
his leave of us in spring ; at which time he is sup- 
posed to proceed to distant regions of the north, 
where ornithologists have never yet dared to ven- 
ture. 
