COMMON WIGEON. 



and the neck are red, spotted with red : the feathers 

 of the back are blackish-brown, edged with red : the 

 wing-coverts are brown, edged with whitish : the spe- 

 culum is ashy-white : the breast and sides are red, 

 but all the feathers are tipped with ashy-red : the 

 beak and legs are blackish-ash. The young males 

 resemble the female : the very old males have the 

 yellow on the forehead less extended, as it does not 

 reach so high up towards the crown as in those of a 

 year old : again, it is the old males only who have 

 the wing-coverts of a pure white. 



The trachea of the mule is nearly similar to that 

 of the Pintail, the labyrinth at the bottom being bony 

 and globular, but differs slightly in its attachment to 

 the side of the windpipe. 



Wigeons vary greatly according to the season, as 

 they moult doubly in the course of a few months : in 

 the month of July the male loses the varied colours, 

 and becomes dark ferruginous on the back, scapulars, 

 and sides, and approaches towards the plumage of 

 the female, but less so than the Pintail. 



As remarked, when speaking of this last-mentioned 

 bird, the Wigeon has been known to pair with the 

 female Pintail, and produce a hybrid brood. Mon- 

 tagu assures us that Lord Stanley informed him that 

 he procured a female Pintail in London that had (his 

 Lordship was told) bred in confinement : this bird 

 paired with a male Wigeon in his Lordship's mena- 

 gerie, and produced the first year nine or ten young, 

 all of which were destroyed by the rats. The second 

 year she produced six young, four of which were living 

 in 1813, and above a year old. It was remarkable 



