178 THE WIGEON. 



ments by the superincumbent body of the bird. On 

 this the female lays her eggs ; nor could she well 

 procure a better or a softer substance for them. 



Trifling as an attention to the feathered tribe may 

 seem, still it has its sweets for those who love to 

 lead a rural life. I generally observe that visiters 

 who come here are always anxious to have a sight 

 of the birds which take up their abode in this 

 sequestered valley ; and they listen with evident 

 signs of pleasure to the cries of the nocturnal wan- 

 derers of the air. It is not above a week ago that I 

 heard the heron screaming, the wigeon whistling, 

 the barn owl screeching, and the tawny owl hooting, 

 in rapid succession. The moon was playing on the 

 water at the time, and the air was nearly as warm 

 as summer. I thought of times long past and gone, 

 when I was enjoying nature's richest scenery in the 

 interminable forests of Guiana. 



NOTES ON THE HABITS OF THE WIGEON. 



FROM the month of May to that of October, we 

 know nothing of the haunts and economy of this 

 cheerful and familiar stranger ; for he always takes 

 his leave of us in spring ; at which time he is sup- 

 posed to proceed to distant regions of the north, 

 where ornithologists have never yet dared to ven- 

 ture. 



