182 RIVER AND POND DUCKS 



VOICE. The call note of the male is a shrill whistling, whe'e-you; that of the 

 female, a low purr or a croak; a note like kir-r-r. 



LIFE STORY 



The European Widgeon, a popular game bird o Europe and a 

 close relative of our Baldpate or American Widgeon, frequently visits 

 our Atlantic seaboard from New England to the Carolinas and occasion- 

 ally the Pacific coast as well as the interior of the continent. Its occur- 

 rence on the Atlantic coast has generally been during the autumn and 

 winter, on the Pacific coast, in winter, and in the interior mostly in the 

 spring. It is not known to have bred in North America. Its eggs are in- 

 distinguishable from those of the Baldpate; the usual clutch consists of 

 7 or 8 eggs and, according to Witherby's Handbook, the average size is 

 2.15 by 1.52 inches. 



A fact about a feeding habit of these birds is related, in an amusing 

 manner, by Millais (1902), who says: "One day in Iceland I observed 

 with a telescope a small party of male Widgeon whose wives were en- 

 gaged in domestic affairs, paddling along the edge of a small lake near 

 Myvatn, and picking the flies off the stones in hundreds. This particular 

 insect, a sort of stinging house fly, is very nutritive and tastes like a piece 

 of sugar. As you are obliged to eat plenty of them yourself, for they are 

 always getting into your mouth, you soon get used to them and swallow 

 them with great equanimity, and it is common sight to see the Icelandic 

 children of the Myvatn district picking these natural lollipops off their 

 faces and eating them by dozens." 



In appearance and habits the European Widgeon is very similar to 

 the Baldpate; the underwing surface will tell the tale. If it is whitish, 

 mottled with dusky or ashy (in either sex) it is an European Widgeon 

 and any specimen taken should be reported to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Washington, D. C., or to the National Museum of Canada, 

 Ottawa, Canada. It is probably far more common on this continent than 

 is generally imagined. As both sexes closely resemble Baldpates, es- 

 pecially the females, it is altogether likely that these visitors are fre- 

 quently mistaken for native species, and together with our Gadwalls, 

 Baldpates, and female Pintails, are probably grouped by ignorant gun- 

 ners under the name "grey duck." 



