AMERICAN WIGEON. 295 



Wigeons. There they were found in ponds of brackish 

 water, as well as in the fresh-water streams. Before we 

 left that country they were all paired ; and I was in- 

 formed by the Honourable M. Fisher, secretary to the 

 Texian Navy, that a good number of them breed in the 

 maritime districts, along with several other Ducks, and 

 that he annually received many of the young birds. Their 

 manners at this time fully proved the correctness of the 

 statements of all those who spoke to me on this subject. 

 Indeed, my opinion is, that some of these birds also pro- 

 pagate in certain portions of the most southern districts 

 of the Floridas, and in the Island of Cuba, as I have seen 

 Wigeons in the peninsula in single pairs, in the beginning 

 of May." Mr. Audubon adds, that the note of this bird 

 is not in his judgment at all like the hew, hew, spoken of 

 by Wilson. 



Dr. Townshend states that it is abundant on the Co- 

 lumbia River ; and Dr. Richardson obtained it as far north 

 as the Saskatchewan, in May 1827. 



In Mr. Bartletfs bird the beak is black ; the irides 

 hazel ; behind the eye a green streak passing backward ; 

 forehead and top of the head dull white; neck, cheeks, 

 and occiput, pale brownish white, freckled with black, the 

 occipital feathers a little elongated ; upper part of the 

 back, the scapulars, and part of the wing-coverts reddish- 

 brown, each feather crossed with minute zigzag blackish 

 lines, some of the elongated scapulars falling over the wing- 

 coverts ; lower part of the back hair-brown ; upper tail- 

 coverts brown, barred with pale brown ; tail-feathers uni- 

 form brown, slightly elongated and pointed ; wing-coverts 

 white, slightly varied with brown ; the greater coverts 

 tipped with black ; the primaries uniform brown ; the 

 outer webs of the secondaries forming a green speculum, 



