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given by Cordeaux (1896). It was started in 1714, and from that year to 1726 no 
less than 44,677 Widgeon were taken out of a total of 50,587 ducks. The great takes 
were made in September, October and November, that is, during the autumn 
migration. In Somerset and Devon more were caught in the old decoys than all 
other species combined (MacGillivray, 1852). But in other locations, as in the 
famous Ashby Decoy (Lincolnshire), the proportion was much smaller, only 2019 
Widgeon being taken in a total of 96,000 ducks decoyed from 1833 to 1868. Though 
the Widgeon has decreased in recent years the numbers are still relatively large as 
compared with other species. In the Orielton Decoy (Pembroke) there were 4150 
Widgeon in the total of 8433 ducks taken between 1877 and 1885, but in the Iken 
Decoy (Suffolk) only 1267 Widgeon out of a total of 12,683 ducks were taken in the 
same years. Actual numbers taken probably do not represent the species numeri- 
cally, because Widgeon are very crafty and do not decoy as easily as Mallard or 
Teal. The Widgeon is the chief game of punt-shooters, and as many as 1200 were 
taken by Payne-Gallwey in 1880-81 out of a total of 1500 wild-fowl. Although 
the species must have been greatly reduced in the past hundred years it is still 
found in companies aggregating thousands on the Scotch estuaries, especially on the 
northeast coast, where they must be fully capable of taking care of themselves, or 
they would long since have been wiped out. Abel Chapman (1889) thought that not 
over 10 or 15% of these bodies of Widgeon were destroyed in any one season, which 
in itself is not enough to endanger the species. But modern commerce and its 
effect on harbors must also be taken into account. 
Its history as a breeding species in Scotland is very interesting, because it has 
shown a marked increase since the late ’70’s, when it was only a rare breeding bird in 
the northern parts. About 1880, a great southern movement began and to-day the 
species breeds in various localities throughout the whole country, and has even 
spread south into the northern counties of England (Millais, 1902; Baxter and 
Rintoul, 1920). 
When Mr. L. Griscom visited the Carmague district, southern France, in De- 
cember, 1918, he estimated that there were at least 100,000 Widgeon wintering 
there. 
An old writer, Faber, did not consider the species so common a nesting bird as the 
Pintail in Iceland, but Millais (1902) found it much more abundant, outnumbering 
it ten to one in certain localities. 
There has been much speculation as to whether this bird has increased on the 
Atlantic coast of North America. The first one was reported by Giraud, who ob- 
tained it in the Fulton Market, New York, in December, 1842 (Giraud, 1844), 
the second by Dr. Samuel Cabot in 1848 (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 3, p. 21, 
1848). At Currituck (North Carolina) it was apparently well known as long ago 
as 1880, but was considered a cross between the Baldpate and the Green-winged 
