THE WIGEON 



MARECA PENELOPE 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : Common winter visitor, 

 most abundant in autumn, a few breeding in Scotland 

 and Ireland. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : The Wigeon is familiar to most Londoners, 

 because it is kept on so many of the ornamental waters 

 in the large urban parks. Wild Wigeon also visit the 

 Metropolitan area in varying numbers every winter. 

 Numbers of Wigeon used to frequent a certain mill-dam 

 in North Surrey every winter, and I have known them 

 linger in this spot so late into the spring that I was led 

 to hope they might pass the summer there. This never 

 happened, however, and they left to a bird sooner or 

 later, reappearing the following winter. It would be 

 difficult to enumerate all the Metropolitan waters where 

 the Wigeon has been observed during the winter months. 

 The bird may be seen on most lakes where fowl congregate 

 at this season, Kingsbury being, or used to be, a favourite 

 resort ; Wanstead and Epping are others. There is 

 reason to believe that wild Wigeon occasionally consort 

 with their captive congeners on some of the ornamental 

 waters of the Metropolis. 



The Wigeon commences to arrive in our islands at 

 the end of September, and from then onwards through 

 the autumn its numbers increase. The return to the 

 north begins in March, and continues through April. 

 It is more or less gregarious during the whole winter, 

 although this fact is not apparent in the London area, 

 where its visits are irregular and in small numbers only. 

 During its stay with us it is for the most part a coast 

 bird. It flies well and powerfully, but with little noise ; 

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