Widgeon. 483 



Widgeon call a good deal at night ; their soft whistling note like 

 whee-ou, whee-ou, maybe heard on still nights at a great distance.'* 

 From this peculiar whistling call-note they are known as ' Whew 

 Ducks ' ; in France, Canards siffleurs ; and in Germany, Pfeif- 

 ente; but in Sweden it is Bids And, or 'White-fronted Duck/ 

 When they are feeding they are remarkably silent, and the 

 larger the flock, the quieter they are, for numbers give confidence 

 and a feeling of security. In Spain it is Pato-silbador ; and in 

 Portugal, Assobiadeira, both with the meaning of 'Whistling 

 Ducks.' Mr. Waterton has proved that, unlike its congeners, 

 the Widgeon is not a night-feeding bird, but devours hy day the 

 short grass which the Goose is known to pluck; hence it is 

 called in Lapland the 'Grass Duck.' 



To see a large flock of Widgeon reposing on the lake at Walton 

 Hall, perfectly wild birds, and yet quickly gaining confidence by 

 finding themselves unmolested in that happy spot; to observe 

 them dressing their feathers, sporting with one another, chasing 

 each other, splashing up the water, in a state of security, where 

 they could lay aside the anxious alarm which they must so 

 frequently feel ; and to watch their playful antics through the 

 big telescope which Mr. Waterton always kept adjusted at the 

 drawing-room window, and directed towards the lake, was one of 

 the many treats of a visit to Walton Hall, and a sight which 

 alone would repay a journey to Yorkshire. 



193. EIDER DUCK (Somateria mollissima). 



We now begin the second division, the Diving, or ' Oceanic ' 

 Ducks, as they are called. Above we noticed that the surface- 

 feeders comprehended those species only which frequent fresh- 

 water lakes, marshes, and dry land ; have great powers of flight, 

 and seldom dive. But the Oceanic species, on the contrary, have 

 no partiality for fresh- water or for dry land, but frequent the 

 harbours, the estuaries, and the open sea, and obtain their food, 

 which lies at the bottom of the water, by diving. They may be 

 recognised by the well- developed and broadly- webbed hind- toe, 

 * ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 234, 



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