THE WIGEON. 



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The Shieldrakes, of wliicli there are two British species, namely, the common 

 Shieldrake {Tadorna vidpanser) and the Euddy Shiekh^ake {Casarha rutild), are hand- 

 some birds, and remarkable for the singular construction of the windpipe, which is 

 expanded just at the junction of the two bronchial tubes into two very thin horny globes, 

 one being nearly twice the size of the other. They are sometimes called Burrow Ducks, 

 because they lay their eggs in rabbit-burrows made in sandy soil, and are often discovered 

 by the impression of their feet at the entrance of the holes. The nests are made of grass, 

 lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent, and the eggs are generally from 

 ten to twelve in number. 



WIGEON.— iWrfon Pe.npUpc. 



The well-known Wigeon is very plentiful in this country, arriving about the end of 

 September or the beginning of October, and assembling in large flocks. 



These birds, although wary on some occasions, are little afraid of the proximity of 

 man and his habitations, feeding boldly by day, instead of postponing their feeding- 

 time to the night, as is often the case with water-fowl. The food of the Wigeon mostly 

 consists of grass, which it eats after the fashion of the common goose. About JNIarch or 

 April the Wigeons leave us to pass to their northern breeding-places, although a few 

 pairs remain in the north of Scotland, and there breed their young. The nest of the 

 Wigeon is made of decayed reeds and rushes, and is lined with the soft down torn from 

 the parent's body. The eggs are rather small and of a creamy white colour. The number 

 of eggs is from live to eight. The flesh of this bird is very delicate, and it is largely sold 

 in our markets. 



The forehead and top of the head of the adult male are creamy white, and the cheeks 

 and back of the neck rich chocolate, and there is a dark green streak from the eye back- 

 wards. The back is greyish white pencilled with irregular lines of black, the wing-coverts 

 are white with black tips, the primaries are dark brown, the secondaries green on their 

 outer webs edged with black, and the outer webs of the tertials are black edged with 

 wliite. The chin and throat brownish black, the breast chestnut, the flanks white with 

 irregular black lines, the abdomen white, and under tail-coverts deep black. The tail is 

 long, pointed, and nearly black.. The female is ruddy brown on the head and neck, with 

 dark specks, the back is brown, and the under surface white. The quill-feathers are of 

 the same tints as in the male. After the breeding season the male loses his bright apparel, 

 and is not unlike tlie female in the sobriety of his dress. The windpipe swells_ at its 

 junction into one large globular sac. The length of the Wigeon is about eighteen inches. 



