The True Ducks. 217 



Mr. Monement, as quoted by Mr. 

 Stevenson in his " Birds of Norfolk," 

 informs us that in foggy weather and rain 

 Wigeon are restless and silent at night, 

 but when the weather is bright and frosty 

 they are usually noisy and more or less 

 unsuspecting. As with Wild Duck, the 

 female of the Wigeon is a more expert 

 diver when wounded than the male, 

 although the superiority is not so marked. 

 He found the Wigeon's sense of smell 

 to be less acute than that of the Wild 

 Duck or Teal, but it is nevertheless 

 unsafe for the gunner to go directly to 

 windward of them, unless at a considerable 

 distance. 



The Wigeon breeds about June, con- 

 structing its nest in the long grass and 

 rushes growing on the margin of a lake 

 or pond. The nest is deep, made of 

 vegetable matter, and well lined with 

 down. This latter is sooty brown in 

 colour with white centres. The eggs vary 

 in number from seven to twelve. They 

 are of a very pale buff or cream-colour. 

 They are seldom perfectly elliptical, one 

 end being rather markedly more pointed 

 than the other. They measure from 1*9 

 to 2*3 in length and from 1*3 to r6 in 

 breadth, from which measurements it will 



