﻿WIGEON. 113 



and larvse, worms, small mollusca, and rarely small fry of fish 

 and frogs ; frequently also it feeds on the tender shoots of 

 vegetable matters that grow in their locality, their leaves, buds, 

 and seeds : grain is no favourite food of the Wigeon. The 

 chief feeding-times are morning and evening, and throughout 

 the night. In confinement the present species becomes soon 

 tame and accustomed to the food of other ducks ; under 

 which circumstances it also eats barley. 



The localities chosen by the Wigeon for the purposes of 

 breeding are on or near some extensive lake or river that 

 affords a wide extent of water ; and on the border of such 

 rivers the spot chosen is either under the shelter of some 

 herbage, bush, or heap of stones ; it conceals its nest very 

 cleverly, which makes it a very difficult matter to find it. 

 The female constructs the nest with the materials at hand, 

 namely, flags, grasses, stalks, and leaves ; and manages the 

 plaiting in such a manner that the structure forms a cup 

 of considerable depth in its centre for the reception of the 

 eggs ; these are from ten to twelve in number, and the brood 

 is hatched in twenty-four or twenty-five clays ; these follow 

 the parent on the water as soon as they are dry. 



The entire length of the Wigeon is twenty inches ; beak 

 from the forehead to the tip, one inch and a half; the tarsus 

 one inch six lines ; the wing from the tarsus to the tip, ten 

 inches and a quarter. 



The plumage of the adult male in spring, autumn, and 

 winter, is as follows : — the colour of the beak and legs is 

 bluish-ash ; the tip of the beak and the nail are black ; webs 

 and claws of the feet also black ; the eyes are dusky-brown ; 

 from the forehead extends over the entire top of the head 

 a band of straw-yellow, forming a sort of crest ; the head and 

 neck are chestnut ; the front and sides of the upper part of 

 the breast are Indian-red, palest in front, and darkest on the 



