136 British Birds with their Nests and Eggs. 



success is in the lull of a protracted storm, when they are eagerly on the feed and 

 much less shy and suspicious. 



The ordinary note of the male Wigeon is a shrill whistle, a sound which like 

 the " wheeple of the whaup " is strikingly in harmony with the usually dreary and 

 retired character of their feeding grounds. Often in former years when sitting 

 concealed in a prepared hole on the oozy slobs, have I listened to the familiar 

 whistle of the male, or the purring growl of the female, as they fed greedily on 

 the Zostera beds, for no Duck is fonder of this marine grass than is the Wigeon. 



The flesh of the Wigeon is said to be inferior to that of the Mallard and 

 Teal, but I have not found this to be the case, and prefer a Humber fed Wigeon 

 to any other species, of course much depends on the cook and the sauce,* but 

 these being up to the mark then the subject of this notice will bear off the palm 

 against the rest of his order. 



Generally Wigeon fly very silently, and except when in great bodies the sough 

 of their wings is not so apparent as with some other Ducks. They are a very 

 active bird on land, and graze on the short grass much after the manner of Geese. 

 Their usual food consists of land grasses and their seeds, and various aquatic 

 plants both fresh-water and marine, notably the common grass-wrack Zostera marina. 

 Lord Lilford says that in fresh-water the favourite food is decidedly the willow- 

 herb {Potomegeton) ; and the late Mr. Anderson, of Newcastle, says that his tame 

 birds were very fond of feeding on the willow leaves which drop from the trees 

 in the autumn. 



The nest is generally very well concealed and close to water, and like the 

 nests of other Ducks is built up of grasses and dead plants, the eggs being buried 

 in down ; these, usually six to ten, are of a creamy- white. The males are very 

 solicitous about the safety of the young brood if their haunts are disturbed, and 

 become very noisy and excited. 



Local names of the Wigeon on the east coast are " Winder," " Whistler," 

 (from its note), and commonly "Whewer" or "Whew" Duck, and in Norfolk 

 " Smee " Duck. The name is sometimes spelt with a d, this is incorrect and a 

 modern innovation. Professor Skeat says that the name Wigion occurred as early 

 as 1570. 



* The following recipe was given me bj- an old gentleman, a bon vivant, who wrote a treatise on 

 cookery. We have never found it excelled as a sauce for wild-fowl. " One salt-spoonful of salt ; J to | caj'enne ; 

 one dessert spoonful of lemon juice strained ; one dessert spoonful of pounded sugar ; one dessert spoonful of 

 ketchup ; two dessert spoonfuls Harvie's sauce ; three dessert spoonfuls of port wine. All the above ingredients 

 to be well mixed and heated and poured over the Duck ; the Duck must not be too much roasted, and must 

 be put on the dish without any of the gravy which comes from it." 



