DUCKS 



209 



shooters and fishermen the Wigeon often goes by the 

 name of " Whew " or " Whewer," from the call-note of 

 the cock bird, a shrill and extremely penetrating whistle 

 which in our language is best represented by the com- 

 pound "Whee-oh" or "Whee-ou." The hen Wigeon 

 has a different call which may be likened to the word 

 " purr." The cock Wigeon has plumage handsomely 

 marked with rich chestnut, green, brown, grey, velvety- 

 black and creamy-white. The hen bird, however, is very 



soberly clad with brown on the upper and with whitish 

 feathers on the under parts. The American Wigeon, 

 a larger race, has been met with a few times in the 

 British Islands. 



THE PINTAIL, Anas acuta, breeds sparingly in 

 Ireland and occasionally in some of the western 

 islands of Scotland. Although a regular winter visitor 

 to the British Islands, it cannot be described as a 

 common species, and with us any large gatherings of 

 Pintail are seldom to be found. In the male Pintail 

 two of the central tail-feathers are considerably longer 

 than the rest, and are sharply pointed ; this, of course, 



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