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ANAS PENELOPE 
ranunculi and polygona (Naumann, 1896-1905). In the spring-time they may be 
seen grazing in the fields on the sprouts of grass and grain, and they also occasionally 
vdsit the stubble fields. 
The animal food consists of shell-fish, shrimps, insects and their larvte, snails; 
occasionally also the spawn of fish and frogs. Naumann (1896-1905) says they may 
be seen in the morning going to the fields to pick up earthworms and snails. The 
summer food doubtless consists of much more animal matter. Millais (1902) saw 
them, as they swam along the shores of one of the Iceland lakes, catching the flies 
off stones. 
The contents of the stomachs of five European Widgeon taken in Massachusetts, 
Maryland and North Carolina consisted of widgeon-grass, eel-grass, pond-weed, 
seeds of the bulrush, and a few other items, thus not differing materially from the 
food of its American cousin (Mabbott, 1920). 
Courtship and Nesting. The Widgeon pairs in March or even earlier, not 
differing in this respect from most shoal-water ducks. The display is simple, 
so much so, in fact, that Heinroth (1911) considered it almost lacking. But a 
sort of social play was noted as long ago as 1858 (Jackel, 1859) and was first ade- 
quately described by Millais (1902). I have never seen it carried out fully by my 
own captive birds. The courting males swim about the female who is ready to re- 
ceive their attentions. They raise their white pileum feathers, stretch out their 
necks over the water, and erect the long ornamental scapular feathers. The bend 
of the wing is also depressed so that the primaries are raised at a sharp angle. All 
the while the males emit their loud double whistles, for they are the noisiest of all 
ducks in courtship. Fights among males are rare, but birds in confinement are apt 
to become jealous when new individuals arrive. Millais (1902) describes a battle 
royal during which the combatants seized each other by the back of the neck 
and attempted to down each other. Most, but possibly not all females are fertile 
when one year old; at least this is the experience of those who have reared them in 
captivity. 
The name penelope was given to the Widgeon because of its supposed conjugal 
fidelity; and so far as known the bird has shown itself worthy of its classical designa- 
tion. No one apparently has described the nuptial flight of the European Widgeon, 
which must take place when the birds are on the breeding grounds, for it is well 
developed and frequently seen in the American species. It would be interesting to 
know whether the “braking” in mid-air, which causes the fluttering sound described 
under Flight, is part of the display, and whether it is characteristic of the male sex 
only. It is always seen and heard in large flocks, and may be simply a form of play- 
antic. 
The nesting dates vary from middle May to late June, depending, of course, on the 
