SURFACE-FEEDING DUCKS. 



WIGEON.— Plate 91. Length, 20 inches. Male: 

 forehead and crown buiF; back of head and of neck, 

 with the face and throat, chestnut ;, chin black ; upper 

 parts finely vermiculated with light and dark gray ; 

 white shoulder-patch ; speculum green, edged with 

 black ; under parts white, finely vermiculated with 

 gray on the sides, but black beneath the tail ; bill 

 blue -gray, tipped black ; feet dark brown. Female : 

 upper parts grayish-brown ; head and neck mottled 

 with light and dark brown ; shoulders whitish ; specu- 

 lum grayish. In summer the drakes lack the bufiy 

 crown, and resemble the ducks in a general way. 

 Resident and winter migrant. 



'Eggs. — 7-10, plain cream ; 2-3 >: 1'5 inches (plate 

 130). 



Nest. — Among rushes or heather,; lined with feathers 

 from the bird itself. 



Distribution. — ^As a breeding bird in the north of 

 Scotland, and to some extent in Ireland ; elsewhere, 

 and everywhere more numerous, as a winter migrant, 

 either on the coasts or inland waters. 



The feeding habits of the Wigeon are varied, the 

 bird being both a day and a night feeder, when inland 

 cropping the grass like a Goose or feeding on the 

 surface of the water like a Duck, and when on the 

 coast seeking its food on the tidal flats. The dis- 

 tinguishing marks are the white shoulder conjointly 



