124 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS. 



growing by the side of a pond near Burnham : it is 

 probable that the birds had bred there previously. 

 The Rev. H. H. Crewe, from whom I have received 

 so many interesting ornithological notes, informed 

 me that he had taken the nest of this bird by the 

 banks of the Wilstone and Marsworth reservoirs, 

 where this species breeds in limited numbers almost 

 every season. This statement is confirmed by the 

 Rev. James Williams, of Tring Park, who has also 

 taken the eggs at Wilstone. 



WlGEON (Anas penelope}. This species appears in 

 limited numbers every winter on the Thames, Colne, 

 Chess, and the Kennett. Wigeons have been shot 

 at various times near Windsor, Eton, Cookham, 

 Datchet, Maidenhead, Surley Hall, and other places, 

 and have occasionally been killed on the water at 

 Latimer, near Chesham. The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe 

 states that immense flocks appear during winter on 

 the large reservoirs at Weston Turville, Marsworth, 

 and Wilstone, and I have received notices of the 

 occurrence of this bird in many other localities. The 

 late Mr. Waterton observed that contrary to the usual 

 habit of ducks the Wigeon feeds by day, and its food 

 consists chiefly of grass. 'The Wigeon,' says that 

 accurate observer, ' is a much more familiar bird than 

 either the Pochard or the Teal. While these congre- 

 gate on the water, beyond the reach of man, the 

 Wigeon appears to have divested itself of the timidity 

 observable in all other species of wild-fowl, and ap- 



