: rao. ‘ere oO ch Shin Loch N; ee
| | inied Mr Selby, mentions that “* W idgeons were seen upon Loch S ; ( aver,
1 : nents > accom rz » I tt y, | | : - 2
| Re isos They were by no means abundant ; and it Is possible that the birds in this
1e N :
| j tl t southern limit of their breeding-stations, and bore no proportion whatever to the
| district were aft the most

° .s td ‘ Natural
flocks which frequent our coasts 10 winter. | !
_«Jn Sutherland I have found the nest, and in Loch Naver and else-

Loch Loyal, and Loch Hope.

A more recent writer, St. John, in his ,

immense
. History and Sport in Moray,’ says: | a ?
: ; 1 rs. | ‘po ro . .
| ‘tl Widgeon breeds regularly, though not in any great numbers. I have shot idgeon in this
ena : : : , , at . ; as > ; thie Tere
t n the 9th of September There was a small flock of eight or nine ; and the two which I shot were
country on the { :
g, and must have been bred in the neighbourhood. oa }
mber ; by the beginning of November there are immense numbers,

i | The migrating Widgeon begin to arrive
evidently youn

early in October or at the end of Septe
and their shrill whistle enlivens all the larger lochs and swamps.
either in the shallows or along the edges of the water, where

Towards night every Widgeon seems to

be in motion, flying to their feeding-places, aes oe a
they can get at the grass and water-plants which form their food. Their flight is very rapid, and divided
inte small companies ; they flit to and fro in every direction until they settle dawn 49 feed. oicea the
daytime they all collect and rest in the centre of the lochs. The Widgeon, like the Teal, is late in acquiring
its full plumage - and in the flocks but a small proportion of Drakes, in fa beauty, are seen | It is also late
in coming into full season for the table, and is in best condition from February to April. Like other wild
fowl, when driven to feed on the sea-shore, it soon loses its eatable quality. ‘The Widgeon is the most
perfectly proportioned of any water-fowl, and the plumage of the male is pecaliarly bright and beautiful.
Both on land and in the water it is very active ; when on shore it walks upright and rapidly, and on the
water is unrivalled in swimming. The nest is similar to that of other water-birds, the eggs being well
protected by the down of the female. The young, when hatched, have rather a brown- than a green-coloured
covering, in this also differing from the common duck, teal, &c.”

Mr. Danu informed Mr. Yarrell that the Widgeon “ is the most abundant of all the Duck tribe in Lapland,
frequenting the grassy swamps, lakes, and rivers. They appear with the first breaking-up of the ice, in pairs ;
and as soon as the females begin to lay, the male loses his beautiful plumage, and secretes himself in willow-
swamps and in the most inaccessible morasses ; nor does he recover his former appearance until November
or December. The females lay from five to eight eggs. They also breed on the Dovre fjeld, as high as
the birch grows, and in many other parts of Norway and Sweden, but only in straggling pairs. They
migrate south early in September, appearing in great flocks on the coasts of Norway and Sweden. The
young keep among the rushes and reeds in the lakes, the old birds betaking themselves to the shallows on
the coast. They entirely leave Sweden in the winter.”

The following interesting note respecting this species was communicated to the late Sir John Richardson
by the Rev. Mr. Booth, of Friskney, it

Lincolnshire :—* Skelton tells me that the Widgeon does not

willingly dive: of course, if driven to it, it can; but it does not dive for its food; and though in play it

sometimes splashes under water, it never remains beneath the surface. The Widgeon is ‘ an amazing foul

) to graze, a strange eater of grass. It is especially fond of ‘ flutter-grass’ ( Glyceria aquatica vel fluitans ?),

which it crops on the surface; but it likewise eats many other herbs. When the decoy has been so full of

Widgeons that they have devoured every blade on the landings, Skelton has taken advantage of their absence

in the night, when they resort to the salt marshes on the sea-coast, and laid down sods pared from the fields,

on which they readily graze. In common with the Mallard, Teal, and Pintail, they are very fond of Willow-

weed seeds (Zpilobium), with which he feeds all the fowl in the decoy, as they prefer it to oats and every

other kind of grain.’—Faun. Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 436, note.

Dr. Jerdon, speaking of the Widgeon in India, remarks that it “ cannot be said to be either common or

abundant, although it is met with occasionally in every part of the country in small or moderate flocks.”

The Widgeon emits, chiefly during flight, a peculiarly shrill whistling note, which has obtained for it

some parts of England, the name of Whew Duck ; and it
the same sound.

, 10

s French name of Canard sifleur vas reference to

During the proper season great numbers of Widge
of Colonel Hawker that, like the fox in hunting
directions fur which will be found in that gentleman’s well-known work on sport

Mr. Thompson, after stating that the Widgeon frequents

numbers for above six months of the year,

ons are taken in the decoys ; and we have the authority
, It affords the finest sport for coast night-shooting, ample
and sporting.

the marine loughs &c. of Ireland in great
ives an interesting account of the modes of shooting it, &c., to

which, as it is bei atierctrin cetecs . : :
1, as It is too lengthy for extract, I must refer my readers (see his ‘ Natural History of Ireland,’ vol. 11.
p. 100 e7 seq.). :

. rhe Plate re presents a male and a female, about the natural size

 

 

      
 

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i bi |