"Wigeon and Teal"

by Archibald Thorburn

Gouttelette Print

Paper Size: 18 x 24 ins / 46 x 60 cm

Image Size: 14 x 20 ins / 36 x 50 cm

Archibald Thorburn wrote: “Looking at things with the eye of the ordinary lover of nature, one can only attempt to represent with brush and pencil the wonderful beauty of the living creatures around us. The chief essential is to acquire the faculty of observing and noting down the many subtle differences in toes and little tricks of habit in different species, and this knowledge can only be obtained by patient watching.”

The Widgeon is a medium sized duck with a small bill and a round head. The head of the male is chestnut coloured, with a yellow forehead and a prominent pink breast with grey body. Widgeons winter in large numbers throughout UK, visiting usually from Russia, Scandinavia and Iceland. Widgeons can also be found all the year round in north west Scotland and in parts of northern England.

Teal are small dabbling ducks noted for the bright green eye patches on the chestnut coloured heads of the males. Males also have a spotted chest, black rimmed yellow tail and grey flanks. The females are a mottled brown. Again, in winter teal gather in low lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK, generally flying from Siberia and the Baltic.


watermarks do not appear on prints